Fair Slivers of Us
by Miss.Full.of.Light
Summary: He feels it as soon as she is born, that tug at his heartstrings that says his mate has finally come into the world. It's beautiful and terrifying all at once, but most importantly what he has been unknowingly waiting for all along. / Currently on hiatus.
1. 1992

**"He feels it as soon as she is born, that tug at his heartstrings that says his mate has finally come into the world. It's beautiful and terrifying all at once, but most importantly what he has been unknowingly waiting for all along."**

* * *

 **A/N: Hello!**

 **Here I am with my new Klaus and Caroline story. It's set in an alternative universe where Klaus has just broken his curse and is already a hybrid by the time that Caroline is born. All of his siblings but Finn are undaggered and none of the characters such as the Salvatores will be vampires, although Bonnie will still be a witch and Tyler will still be a potential werewolf.**

 **As you can probably tell by the summary, this fanfiction is based on the mates trope, which is something that I have been wanting to explore for a very long while. Every chapter is going to show a different time period/year, and there will be around ten in total.**

 **The biggest thank you and a lot of snuggles go to Miranda (livingdeadblondegirl), Sophie (justanotherfiveminutes) and Angie (Angelikah), for helping me while I brainstormed the plot and for beta'ing this ridiculous mountain of mostly fluff.**

 **Hope you enjoy,**

 **Giulia.**

* * *

The first time it happens, it's the 10th of October 1992.

Of course, Klaus ignores it. It's not even because he doesn't understand the meaning behind it, but precisely because he does. It takes a lot of strength—more than he would like to admit, more than he has ever had to employ before—but he is used to running away from anything that might require him to feel, to be pathetically _weak_ , and so he tries to go on with his existence as if nothing has changed when everything had.

Just because he has finally managed to break his curse and become a hybrid after centuries of pain and suffering and of having to feel like half a being–

–and is he not _still_ just a half, this way?–

–doesn't mean that he can afford to waste time after all; he has an army to build and a world to conquer that are waiting, and he won't let himself ponder–

–but _he does_ –

–over what else out there is literally meant for him.

He's the King of New Orleans and the most powerful creature alive, and he tells himself that that's all the happiness and satisfaction he needs, even when he is all too aware that there is nothing which could ever surpass what he felt that one day, that one, small, fleeting instant.

But, perhaps luckily, his siblings have always been annoyingly perceptive and, somehow, they immediately know.

"It finally happened, didn't it?" his sister assaults him with questions only a few days later, a frantic smile stretching wide across her lit up, hopeful face.

He wonders how exactly she could tell; if it's because, after so long, his family can recognize the telltales of a werewolf's behavior, or if because the void that he feels settled so heavy on his chest and all around him is simply that painfully evident to others too.

He loathes the knowledge that it's the latter.

"Shut up, Rebekah," he growls, marching towards his studio without sparing the blonde a single glance.

Unconcerned, the sensitive vampire hurriedly trails behind him, dismissing her brother's attitude.

"Why are you still here? Why are you not looking for her? Surely, any witch could find her in a heartbeat," she even snaps her fingers once for emphasis, right in front of his eyes.

Klaus' jaw clenches, his nostrils flaring in clear irritation as he briefly closes his eyes.

"Have you ever thought that maybe I _do not_ wish to find her?"

Rebekah blinks—once, twice; and then blatantly starts laughing.

"You're incredible," she bellows in a loud, mocking tone, making him grind his teeth together even more harshly.

"She is just a few weeks old now, defenseless," his voice cracks on the words, his whole being hating just how true they are, just how out of his control the whole situation is. "Do you really want to bring her into our world?"

His sister's disappointed scowl immediately mellows then, turning into a soft smile, and a knowing glint brightens her usually icy blue eyes.

"So it's because you already care?"

He looks away abruptly, a bitter taste spreading on his tongue. He's aware that lying would be pointless, but he decides to try nonetheless.

 _We do not feel, and we do not care._

"I have no idea what you mean."

Rebekah cannot help but sigh in response, slightly shaking her head at the hybrid's innate stubbornness. It's not like she was expecting him to be honest for once anyway, to admit what she already knows he's feeling.

"She is not going to be any safer away from us, Nik," the blonde shamelessly plays on his newly-found protective instincts; she has spent enough time throughout her life around werewolves, for one reason or the other, to know how they think, how they act and react. "If our enemies find out about her..." she trails off.

And there is no need for her to finish that sentence, they both know it.

"What do you suggest, then?" Klaus snarls angrily, his head snapping back into place, his eyes fiercely set on his sister as they flicker with dangerous, golden streaks that show the beast hidden just beneath the surface.

He knows that Rebekah is simply trying to help, but the reminder of how easily destroyed the rest of his forever–

–his _everything_ , as much as he wishes he could deny it–

–is has him on edge and feeling more scared than he has ever been before. Caring means having something— _someone_ —to lose, and he's not quite sure if he is ready to accept that kind of liability in his life.

"If we get close to her, if we make contact... they will know anyway."

"Yes, but you will have made a serious statement against anyone who might try to harm her," the younger Original notes wisely, her eyes pleading. "And we'll be able to protect her ourselves."

Taking everything in, Klaus remains quiet for many minutes, a tense silence hanging heavily around the two siblings as the hybrid reflects on the situation—on what he already knew and especially on what the blonde has just pointed out to him, completely despising how right the latter is in her assessments.

Eventually, curtly and with a clenched jaw, he nods.

They make arrangements—blackmail a few witches into helping them, tie some loose ends, make sure that their city will be cared for until they return—and, not even three full days later, all the Originals are finally landing in Mystic Falls.

It's somewhat ironically fitting, Klaus thinks, that his mate has been born in that same place that once hosted his very own village, that same place that he has always kept on considering home no matter the memories of sorrow and tragedy but never happiness that plague him whenever he recalls those far back times.

He grins. Fate doesn't seem to be taking that 'meant to be' of his lightly.

But, when the umpteenth locator spell points them even further in the right direction, he also learns that Fate doesn't particularly want to make things easy for him, something which he probably deserves.

His mate is human, he finds out, and part of a completely human family at that.

It's a fact that could arguably hinder his plans and intentions, and he immediately curses his luck. How is he supposed to explain his need to look after their daughter, to cherish her and always make sure that she is safe and happy, to two people who have no chance of ever understanding what he means? How is he supposed to make them see the innumerable threats and dangers that would be constantly posed against her, without him and his family by her side?

Compulsion is of course his best option—

—"She'll find out one day, Nik, and she will come to hate you because of it," Rebekah warned him as soon as the idea had spilled out of his mouth, Elijah's rueful gaze saying that his older brother unfortunately agreed.

He scoffed then, refusing their reality.—

—but, in all honesty, little can he bring himself to care about all that—he knows that he will eventually find a way; he has to—when he finally has a name.

Caroline Margaret Forbes.

Caroline.

 _His_ Caroline.

The elegant syllables curl around his tongue and past his lips like the most beautiful and finest of melodies, the single word making him feel more alive than he had ever thought possible before.

Like a broken record, he replays the eight letters over and over again in the privacy of his mind, and they have his whole body buzz, inexplicable emotions impatiently bubbling up inside of him and something much more powerful than blood or magic suddenly coursing through his veins, because–

–it's all finally _real_.

He is now looking forward to experience that very same thing that he has been working so hard to avoid for over a thousand years, and, if the moment didn't feel so monumental, he would probably be laughing at himself.

However, it's not until he finally sees her for the first time that he _knows_ , with deep and complete and utter certainty and finality, that he loves her. Truly. And that he always will, under any capacity in which she will be willing to allow him into her life.

He takes a tentative step forward into the yellow-painted nursery, holding a breath that he does not even need, eyes widening in awe when they at last fall on her.

Caroline is nothing more than a tiny bundle wrapped up in large, pastel pink blankets deposited right at the center of a tasteful maple crib, and Klaus immediately feels that same tug in his chest—the one that first told him that his mate had finally come into the world—as his gaze sweeps delicately over the baby girl's pale, sleeping features.

He exhales a shaky breath, fisting his trembling hands. The whole ordeal–

–feeling; _love_ –

–feels so completely foreign to him, and yet so right at the same time.

Taking another, small step forward, he decides to momentarily forfeit the use of his heightened hearing, which was trained on her parents downstairs. His siblings are waiting for him just outside of the Forbes' white, two-story house after all, giving him the privacy that such an event deserves but also making sure that the two of them are not disturbed. The hybrid wants to be able to fully enjoy the moment, suddenly utterly caught up in the sight of his mate finally right there in front of him, so small and so vulnerable and so beautiful all at once.

When, after a little while, Caroline lazily begins to blink her eyes open right into his, he just cannot subside a gasp of wonder.

Time seems to stop all around them, and Klaus feels himself freeze on the spot and unable to move. He fights with himself on whether that's because he's afraid that she might eventually start crying, or because her light blue orbs have him undeniably trapped in their magnetic hold; his heart beats almost desperately to answer that it's the latter.

But the tears that he was half expecting never come, and he would curse her apparent lack of sense of preservation if it weren't for the fact that she looks so _trusting_ , comfortably snuggled there under a heap of cloths, that it's almost as if she knows who he is–

–who he _will_ be, for her and to her–

–even without really knowing it yet.

Before he can even realize what he's doing, before he can even process if that's taking it too far, the Original's feet are stealthily moving towards the crib, right until he is peeking down at a very small Caroline, his eyes incredibly gentle.

She appears completely calm, blinking up at him almost curiously, asking questions that he's afraid he's not able to answer quite yet; nonetheless, he still doesn't want to run the risk of spooking her, and so he's slow and careful with his movements, almost hesitant, something that he doesn't remember having ever been before in his whole, long life.

His right forefinger is barely grazing the soft side of her very tiny, fisted hand, when she suddenly emits a short string of weird babbling noises, her mouth opening toothlessly in what the hybrid can only gather is supposed to be the baby equivalent of a smile.

His chest aches oddly in reaction to the small, maybe insignificant but genuine gesture, a somewhat soothing kind of warmth surging throughout his whole body. He half frowns down at the tiny parcel of blankets, his mind reeling, trying to figure out the many mysteries already hidden beneath those endless pools of sky blue that seem to be piercing into his very soul.

He is over a thousand years old, while she has been alive for less than a month.

He is tall, powerful and dangerous, while she's not even two feet long.

And yet, he's the helpless one, completely at her mercy and glad to be there.

Swallowing thickly to attempt to keep at least part of his feelings at bay, Klaus slowly reciprocates the smile, his lips tugging up fondly at the corners, his dimples now on display. Caroline's fingers slowly stretch open as if in reaction and to notice that, even spread at its full width, her hand is so extremely small compared to his makes the Original's heart thrum agitatedly underneath his ribcage, a mixture of fear and rage suddenly gripping at him.

His mate is currently so terribly fragile, and it's a thought that he cannot bear to have, a circumstance that he will not allow to stand any longer.

Right there, in that very defining moment of time, he pledges to become even more ruthless, in order to ensure that she gets to live out her own eternity in happiness. And, every time that his gaze lingers on her, it becomes more intent somehow.

He gulps, and it's then that he finally fully lets himself admit what a coward he has been, thinking that he could simply stay away from her and that his distance would be enough to keep her safe from his too many enemies. There is nothing or nobody in the world now that matters to him more than Caroline does, with her lively eyes and her breathtaking smiles–

–with his dead, rotten heart held in her sweet grasp; and maybe he should be feeling the organ in his chest soften, but it seems to harden instead, now knowing that it— _she_ —needs to be protected above all else–

–because she might be his mate, but he's the one who belongs and has all along belonged to her and her only.

The way in which her short, slightly chubby fingers suddenly close around his long, index one and pull at him just as those thoughts take definite root in his mind almost seems to want to convey that she agrees with him—he's irrevocably hers, and there is no letting go nor any going back.

A low chuckle bubbles up his throat then, a clear sign of the affection that he feels towards the tiny blonde who has him completely wrapped around her little finger after just a few, simple moments together.

And it's only hours later—after having patiently waited for her to fall asleep once again and when his whole being has already become perfectly attuned to the soft and peaceful beating of her precious heart—that he eventually manages to tear himself away and rejoin his siblings, resolute on planning the best way to integrate his family as a permanent, trusted feature of the Forbes' household and remain close to Caroline.

Their existences are forever intertwined now–

–they always have been, everything he has soldiered through all those centuries only leading him up to this very moment–

–and what a feeling it is, to know that his life has finally truly started.


	2. 1993

**"He feels it as soon as she is born, that tug at his heartstrings that says his mate has finally come into the world. It's beautiful and terrifying all at once, but most importantly what he has been unknowingly waiting for all along."**

* * *

The Forbes' neighbors feel suddenly _quote_ - _unquote_ compelled to move out of the state, and it's of course the Mikaelsons who acquire their property not even a day later, turning it into something that much more resembles a mansion rather than a normal house, in order to accommodate the four of them more than comfortably.

Klaus has a room set up for Caroline too—just a nursery, for the time being—in case they do ever need one, and Rebekah has way too much fun refurnishing the whole place on her brother's credit card.

Certainly, living in such a common and pedestrian fashion among humans is a new experience for them all—a quite vexing and ridiculous one, truth be told—but they know that they have to, that it's the only way to keep a close eye on Caroline for now and to initiate her into their family–

–and family counts above all else, _always and forever_ –

–so they fall into a new dynamic quickly and for the most part easily.

They tell everyone that Elijah works as a lawyer away in Richmond to excuse him being out of town more often than not, in reality taking care of the family's businesses elsewhere and making sure that the supernatural community does not blow up in a frenzy during their absence from New Orleans. The Originals are royalty among other vampires, they are feared by centuries-old beings, by werewolves and witches everywhere, and they can't just disappear into thin air all of a sudden. After all, one day Klaus will return with a Queen by his side, and his kingdom cannot fall apart while he waits for her.

Which is why the hybrid joins his older brother sometimes—although only for two days at a time, at the most—needing to keep a watchful eye on everything for himself and happily letting utter mystery surround his figure in Mystic Falls, while Kol and Rebekah have to somewhat begrudgingly enroll themselves into junior year of high school.

The rest is done through charm or compulsion, neither of which any of the Mikaelsons is shy to use for their own gains.

It also conveniently plays in their favor that they very soon realize just how busy William and Elizabeth Forbes' lives apparently are, both focused on their careers probably more than any good father or mother should ever be.

Klaus cannot for the life of his understand why anyone would ever willingly choose anything else over Caroline, over the chance of spending time with her and being able to care for her, and he has to more than once remind himself to just let things run their course. It's incredibly hard, especially when memories of Mikael and Esther's treatments of him and his siblings are forever fresh in his mind and the last thing that he wants for the tiny blonde that is his whole life is to feel as if she doesn't matter to the people who have brought her into this world, but he somehow manages nonetheless.

So his mate ends up being barely three months old the first time that her parents tiredly start looking for a babysitter, and, while Jenna Sommers seems to be their perfect first choice, it quickly becomes obvious that she definitely isn't Caroline's—

—"She–she won't stop crying. I don't know what else to do," the young honey blonde's panicked, almost sobbing voice reported through the phone one particularly awful evening, Klaus' hearing cautiously trained on the happenings of the Forbes' home as it almost always was.

"Bring her over to the Mikaelsons," Liz sighed heavily as a last resort, immediately making a proud grin twitch on the hybrid's lips as he set his sketching notebook aside. "She likes them. They always seem to be able to calm her down, somehow."—

—so the role is eventually bestowed on Rebekah.

Whether that's all part of Fate's clever scheming or a simple stroke of luck, none of the Originals ever questions it.

"I am _so glad_ that we get to have her here most of the time," the blonde vampire comments casually one warm morning of June, exhaling half a puff and shifting a lock of her hair away from her forehead. The school year is finally over, the Forbes are at work like always, and Caroline is spending time over.

"I mean, everyone knows that baby girls are supposed to wear cute and fluffy dresses at all times. What the hell was Liz Forbes thinking putting that bloody thing on Caroline this morning?" she actually cringes remembering the bright, single piece of clothing that the toddler came with and that is now laying forgotten somewhere in her bathroom upstairs.

Hearing his sister's nonsensical ramblings, Klaus simply rolls his eyes and then shares a one-sided amused look with the baby currently facing him on his lap, the human's tiny white-socks-covered feet wiggling stubbornly against his thighs as his hands keep her up steady by the waist while they sit together on one of the couches in the living room.

The eight-month-old is wearing a pastel pink cotton dress with large, white stripes around the hems and a medium-sized bow set right in its middle, and he really cannot lie that she looks utterly adorable. But, then again, she always does to him, so he didn't mind the yellow onesie that she had on earlier either.

"Caroline is not here for you to play dress-up with, Rebekah," Elijah immediately reminds his sister, although his admonishment sounds almost mindless as he never takes his eyes off of the heavy tome that he has been quite intent on reading since after breakfast.

"Yes, _Rebekah_ ," Kol promptly chips in, his tone mocking. "Get your own baby to grow, this one's Nik's."

The youngest Mikaelson narrows her eyes to glare at her brother, huffing and petulantly crossing her arms over her chest.

"Technically, _I'm_ the babysitter here."

"Mate trumps babysitter, little Sister," Klaus momentarily joins the discussion, words plainly teasing as he grins, his gaze not once straying away from Caroline's cutely concentrated face.

Rebekah actually stomps her foot against the white, marbled pavement then, half shrieking her frustration and gathering even the baby's startled attention in the process.

"Ugh. I hate you all!"

"' _ol_!" echoes right after.

Complete silence falls on the room.

After an instant, every pair of eyes turns to focus on Caroline in utter shock and bewilderment, orbs almost comically widened and mouths hanging agape. For a few moments, nobody speaks or even breathes, not until the tiny toddler in front of them blinks confusedly and everything starts happening again all together.

"Oh my God, _she can talk_!"

"Was that my name? Guys, that _so_ was my name!"

Klaus sighs tiredly and holds Caroline closer to him, carefully cradling her against his chest and soothingly caressing down her back when he notices that his siblings' sudden outbursts have caused her some distress.

He scowls at them, annoyed.

"Of course she can, Rebekah, this is not the first time that she has spoken. And quit it, Kol, that wasn't your name."

" _Ah_ ," the just mentioned brother quickly jumps up to his feet on the armchair that he's occupying, legs bent precariously at the knees as he waves his right forefinger at the hybrid in front of him. "You're obviously only jealous that she hasn't said yours, yet."

Klaus harshly presses his teeth together in response, pursing his lips and forcing himself to not take the bait.

"I will have you know that her vocabulary is already vastly broadened for her age."

Kol promptly rolls his eyes at that, slumping back against the comfortable leather of his seat with a sigh.

"Boring."

From his left side, his sister immediately swats his arm, producing a loud _slap_.

"Ouch," the younger brown-haired vampire yelps, furrowing his eyebrows together as he massages the sore spot that the blonde has just hit him on and makes a great show of feigning unbearable pain. "Bekah, why must you always be so violent?"

"You deserved it," Rebekah quips with a careless flip of her long, golden hair, flashing her brother a fake smile. She then goes to sit down next to Klaus and Caroline, gently taking one of the latter's small hands in between both of hers and slowly swaying them together a few times. At the slight movement, the baby turns around towards her and giggles happily.

"Why," Kol's frown deepens, "what did I do, now?"

"You called Caroline boring," the blonde accuses him evenly, without taking her attention away from the tiny toddler looking at her.

" _What_?! I did no such thing," her brother hurries to defend himself, once again pointing his index finger at his siblings and also tilting his neck to the side pointedly. "I called _Klaroline_ —the present version, at least—boring, there's a very big difference. Also, it's true; they're disgustingly cute, don't deny it."

But neither Klaus nor Rebekah have the force to fight him for once, both instead groaning at the same time, the latter even slumping against the back of the couch.

"Oh, God. Not this again, please," she begs.

"What?" Kol's eyes widen in a way too innocent manner, making it clear that he already does know exactly what it is that his sister is moaning about.

"You know what," she replies brusquely, her tone equivalent of a glare.

"Hey, I'm just being a good vampire and keeping up with the times."

Klaus immediately shoots him a warning look as a reminder that he is not allowed to use the word 'vampire' around Caroline—to which he barely suppresses a smirk—while Rebekah eyes him squarely and arches a skeptical eyebrow.

"By... mashing people's names together and forming," she actually uses air-quotes, "'ships'?"

"It's what the cool kids do," he shrugs. "Don't blame me, blame the system."

"Right."

"' _ait_!"

Klaus' formerly unimpressed stare at his brother immediately morphs into a fond smile as he looks down at Caroline wiggling in his arms.

"Yes, Sweetheart," he softly kisses the tips of her tiny fingers, caressing the back of her hand in the process. "Right."

She excitedly claps her hands together and giggles again loudly.

"Me, 'ait!"

Utterly enamored, he dimples at her. "Always."

Beside him, Rebekah has taken to grinning widely by now, observing the adorable scene unfolding before her with affectionate, dancing eyes, and even Elijah can't hold back a quick look and a slight smirk from behind his book. Kol simply rolls his eyes for the umpteenth time instead, quietly grumbling something along the lines of—

—" _Whipped_."—

—although nobody is paying him any attention anymore.

Caroline puts her small hand on Klaus' chest then, and gently pats him there twice, letting her warmth seep and spread through his whole being, cold for anyone but her. She points to herself just a moment later, confidently nodding her head with a smile as she looks up at him with wide, honest eyes.

"'ait."

The hybrid's breath suddenly catches in his throat as the meaning of her actions becomes clear, and an array of different emotions floods through his heart—awe, elation, pure and unadulterated _happiness_.

He feels almost confused, overwhelmed by the feelings that someone as small and as innocent as Caroline somehow manages to evoke inside of him daily, feelings that he had thought himself incapable of for centuries upon centuries, feelings that he would have deemed useless and pathetic not even a year ago, that he still doesn't hesitate to exploit in others to twist their souls into mere ashes. But, whenever his gaze rests on her, something just switches inside of him and he cannot help it, he _doesn't want_ to–

–she is bright, all-encompassing light, and he never wants to be lost alone in the darkness anymore.

Eventually, Klaus clears his throat and manages to speak again, although his voice is still raw with emotion.

"We are more than right, Sweetheart."

The tiny blonde in his arms beams up at him, almost as if proud of herself and seemingly satisfied by his answer. Rather clumsily, she moves to nestle further into him, sighing contently when her little, chubby cheek finally meets the soft and cool material of his dark brown Henley.

He delicately snuggles her small body even closer, cradling the nape of her neck with his right hand and gently kissing the top of her head, her light, growing hair lightly tickling his chin while her tiny fingers curl almost unconsciously into his shirt.

And, then, there's nothing but peace. Because nothing else matters.


	3. 1994

**"He feels it as soon as she is born, that tug at his heartstrings that says his mate has finally come into the world. It's beautiful and terrifying all at once, but most importantly what he has been unknowingly waiting for all along."**

* * *

No matter the fact that Klaus hates even just the thought of it with everything he has and that it frustrates Rebekah tremendously, much to everyone's surprise, it's eventually Kol who ends up being Caroline's favorite as soon as she's a little older—

—"Maybe Nature messed something up," the brown-eyed Mikaelson piped up one day, eyebrows furrowed together pensively and his tone so serious that it immediately put the others present in the room on alert, "maybe Caroline is actually supposed to be _my_ mate."

"You're not even a werewolf, Kol," Rebekah scoffed, immediately resuming the reading of her new fashion magazine; her reply was barely heard by anyone anyway, drowned in Klaus' threatening growls.

" _Watch your tongue_ ," the hybrid snarled, teeth grinding together, his exaggerated reaction prompting his younger brother to roll his eyes at him with an over-dramatic flair, "or I will tear it out of your mouth with my bare hands."

"Jeez, I was just saying," Kol held his palms up in mock surrender. "You two are so uptight, it's actually no wonder that Carebear doesn't love you as much as she does me."—

—something that he never fails to use to his advantage whenever he wants to annoy his siblings, which is of course pretty often.

Perhaps it's because Klaus' love for her makes him extremely overprotective—annoyingly so for an almost two-year-old who is already eager to discover the whole, wide world—and because, even if she fights with herself everyday to not squish the utter cute out of the tiny blonde, Rebekah is inherently too bossy and not the best of playmates, whereas Kol is fun and laid-back.

Also and most importantly, since he's the only one who lets her eat her favorite chocolate chip cookies even when she definitely shouldn't, Caroline is convinced that he just deserves to be her favorite.

"Hey, Carebear?" Kol turns to her while they are sitting side to side on the couch and watching Discovery Channel for the third or fourth hour in a row.

The adorable toddler immediately looks up at him with big eyes and sort of hums under her breath in response, a habit that she has picked up from Klaus.

"It's Saturday afternoon, can we switch to football?"

Caroline frowns as much as a baby can frown, her face scrunching up and upset suddenly coloring her features as she hugs her yellow Care Bear—a present of Kol's, for obvious reasons—closer to her chest.

"No."

"But we've already watched this same documentary on repeat three times today," the vampire whines pitifully, motioning towards the TV as if that could somehow help him win the argument.

"No," the tiny blonde repeats, more forcefully this time. "Me likes wolfs."

Kol childishly folds his arms across his chest then, looking away and mumbling irritably under his breath.

"Of course you do."

"It's ' _I like wolves_ ', Caroline," Elijah corrects her, briefly passing through the living room on his way to the kitchen.

"Who cares, 'lijah," Kol immediately rebuts with a derisive snort. "As long as she already knows what her destiny is all about, everything's just dandy," he comments.

Although, suddenly, he cranes his neck upwards and starts to look around the house as far as his eyes can take him.

"Actually, where's Nik? He might want to take a picture of this moment to add to his Caroline shrine."

"In his studio, I believe."

"Ah," a sly grin takes over the younger Mikaelson's lips, "brooding over his mate wanting to spend time with me. I understand."

"Be nice," Elijah sighs.

Kol brings a hand up to his chest and gasps in reaction, pretending to be offended.

"I'm always nice."

Beside him, Caroline observes him and then giggles, and he shoots her a jolly smile.

"See? Carebear gets me," he puts his hands under her arms and carefully picks her up, settling her on his lap, her stuffed bear momentarily forgotten to the side.

As soon as she is sitting there comfortably, she raises her tiny hand at him, just like he taught her a few weeks before, and, chuckling affectionately, he promptly high-fives her. Then, he turns her back towards the wide TV screen and points at the wild animals moving around in their habitat.

"You know, our Nik can be a wolf too."

" _Kol_!"

The vampire's short name echoes loudly throughout the mansion, his three siblings all chastising him at the same time and Klaus and Rebekah suddenly speeding into the room with matching wrathful expressions on their faces.

"What?" Kol shrugs, eyes wide. "It's not like she's not bound to find out, eventually."

The hybrid growls, taking a threatening step forward towards his brother.

" _She is just a baby_."

But the other Mikaelson simply rolls his eyes at that, about to retort something but suddenly interrupted when everyone's attention shifts to Caroline excitedly wiggling up and down on his legs instead.

"'ick, wolf," she quickly claps her hands together, her eyes bright and excited as they sway towards Klaus. "Me, see!"

Rebekah's scowl deepens, her hands going to her hips as she huffs and closes her eyes in exasperation.

"Look at what you've done, now," she reprimands her brown-haired brother once more, shaking her head.

Caroline's arms jut forward and she impatiently waves them at Klaus, flailing, an obvious sign that she wants him to pick her up. With a sigh, he does as ordered and holds her close.

"Wolf!"

"I can't, Sweetheart," he answers her not-so-implicit demand, his tone pained; he hates to have to disappoint her in any way.

When her lips turn down in a pout right after and her bottom lip starts to wobble, he cups her cheek in a silent request for forgiveness.

"Do you think you would hurt her?" Kol asks after a long moment, sounding uncharacteristically serious.

"I have no control over myself when I turn," Klaus explains almost wearily, minutely shaking his head. "I am exclusively led by instinct, and I would attack anyone on sight."

"But she's your mate. Like, had she been a werewolf, wouldn't the two of you have gone to merrily run around together eventually?"

"Probably," the hybrid shrugs, cradling Caroline's head into the nook between his neck and shoulder and rocking her softly. "But she's not, she's human."

"But, maybe, if you tried—"

" _No_ ," Klaus objects resolutely, pinning his brother with a hard and stern gaze, his jaw clenched with finality. "It's out of the question, Kol, it's too dangerous."

"Do you really think we would let any harm come to her?"

"None of you would be a match for me, and I cannot risk it," his voice is severe but somewhat choked, wavering.

The thought of anybody ever wronging Caroline fills him with barely contained rage; it makes him crave to paint entire countries red, to destroy and plunder in order to always keep her happy. And just the possibility that he could hurt even one single blonde hair on her head by mistake–

–he's a monster, after all, hurting those who he is supposed to protect the most; _Henrik_ , his subconscious whispers to him as a reminder–

–has Klaus completely frozen in terror, his hold on her tightening almost unconsciously as a consequence, needing to reassure himself that she is really there with him and that she is safe.

However, he soon feels his tiny spitfire shake lightly against him, the material of his gray Henley dampening with her sad tears and sniffles.

" _Sweetheart_ ," the sight of her pale skin wet and stained with red blotches is like a painful squeeze around his supposedly dead heart. "Please. You know that I hate to see you sad," he tenderly tries to dry her cheeks, gently steering the tiny, fisted hand that she was using to rub her eyes away from her face.

"Uhm, _duh_ ," Kol chips in, snorting, "that's the whole point. She's a sneaky little thing, our Carebear, and she can already tell that you're hopelessly at her beck and call. I bet those aren't even real tears."

Rebekah's following sigh is heavy and exasperated.

"Shut up, Kol."

"You know it's true," he sing-songs before eventually turning around towards the TV again, finally able to change the channel to his liking and switching to the Arsenal match, whispering—

—"God bless European football."

The blonde rolls her eyes at her brother and then moves to take Caroline from Klaus, something suddenly flickering across the hybrid's eyes.

"Maybe some food will help."

But it's not that easy—it never is—and the fierce toddler immediately starts to thrash about in the circle of her arms.

She cries out. "No, _wolf_!"

"Caroline, no, come on," Rebekah uselessly tries to calm her down, instead only managing to make her scream and cry even harder with every single attempt.

She has all but resigned to having a grumpy, crying baby on her hands the whole day, until suddenly—

—"I'll do it."

Everyone stops dead in their tracks, almost not even breathing, the silence tense around the room.

"Wh–what?" Rebekah asks in a breath, turning around, sure that she must have heard her brother wrong.

Even Elijah appears rattled. "Niklaus, you have just said yourself that it's too dangerous."

"I'm aware," the hybrid nods, inhaling deeply but reciprocating Caroline's beaming smile, "but I feel this... _need_ , now. I can feel that my wolf craves it too, he wants to meet her."

"This is insane," the blonde replies sharply. "You're talking as if there is two of you."

"There is, in a way."

"And what if you hurt her?"

"I won't. I know I won't."

Her blue eyes widen incredulously. "You didn't all of five minutes ago!"

"Rebekah, please," Klaus sighs. "Do you honestly believe that I would do this, if I weren't sure?" he asks, his tone gentle as his eyes pointedly focus on Caroline for a significant moment and then back on his sister. "I felt it as soon as you took her away from me, that it's something that I have to do. Let me."

But the blonde doesn't budge, pursing her lips and considering the situation. Eventually, after what feels like an eternity, she nods her assent, primly straightening her shoulders and keeping Caroline even closer to her chest.

A reactionary smile immediately breaks across the other Original's face.

"I will turn in the woods, and only then come back to the house," he announces, already skipping backwards towards the front door, his whole body suddenly buzzing with a new kind of excitement.

"Yeah, because nobody is going to notice a giant wolf running through town," Kol mocks as him and Elijah take a protective stance on each side of Rebekah and the baby.

"Do not worry about that, they won't see me."

Klaus is gone not even a second later, and his younger brother can't do much aside from heaving a deep sigh, then turning towards Caroline and delicately booping her small nose with his finger.

"I always knew you would make Nik go crazy one day, little Munchkin. I just didn't think it would be this soon."

" _Please_ ," Rebekah scoffs, although her words don't actually sound malicious, but rather affectionate. "He's been going crazy since the day she was born."

"Well, then. If we really want to nit-pick, Nik has never been completely sound."

The blonde snorts, side-eying her brother from top to bottom and then back up. "Says _you_."

"Children, please," Elijah abruptly breaks the two's silly bickering, sighing tiredly and rubbing his thumb along his left temple. "Sometimes I really have to stop and ask myself who's supposed to be the baby of this family."

Both siblings half gasp and then scoff at the same time, feeling offended by such accusations, but neither of them has a chance to retort anything as a huge, auburn-colored wolf suddenly leaps into the room from the kitchen, obviously having entered the house through the now wide open backdoor.

"Oh, God," Rebekah clutches Caroline closer without even realizing it, the three Originals immediately taking a few steps back.

But the wolf standing in front of them doesn't at all seem to be preparing for a ferocious attack, instead remaining completely still, his head slightly tilted to the side almost curiously, his yellow eyes solely trained on Caroline. There's no trace of hatred or bloodthirst in his wide orbs, just a gentle fondness aimed at the tiny blonde, something remarkably akin to longing.

A moment later, the toddler inevitably starts to fuss, her body impatiently pushing against Rebekah's arms in an attempt to free herself and get closer to the animal quietly waiting for her in the middle of the room. The vampire shares a wary look with her two brothers, silently exchanging matching worries and questions; no matter Klaus' previous words, they all know that none of them would ever live past this if anything were to happen to Caroline.

"' _ick_!" the baby calls out, trying to reach out towards him with her hands.

Immediately, the wolf perks up, standing at attention.

Rebekah gulps. "Do I—"

"Yes," Elijah nods at his sister. "Kol and I will be ready to hold him back if he moves rashly or seems to be losing control."

The blonde nods back, and then waits for her brothers to put themselves in position right behind Klaus before slowly moving forward and carefully depositing Caroline down on the floor in front of him.

Excited, the tiny toddler swiftly crawls all the way over to the tall and regal animal.

She immediately raises a hand up to touch him, and the three Originals around her all anxiously hold their breaths in sync. But, once again, their fears are unfounded.

In response to the baby's movements, the wolf simply dutifully bows down to her level, amiably resting his muzzle on his large paws and observing her closely with big, awaiting orbs. When Caroline finally brings her fingers through his thick fur for the first time and starts to pet him, he puffs happily through his nose and closes his eyes in bliss.

She starts to delicately stroke him then, scratching behind his ears and then down his long, lean back, giggling at the foreign but nice, tickling sensation. It goes on for minutes, and Elijah, Kol and Rebekah all eventually allow themselves to relax as well, releasing small sighs of relief even as they notice Caroline starting to grow sleepy; she has had quite the day, after all.

However, she doesn't seem ready to part from Klaus quite yet, and so she suddenly, slowly cuddles into the wolf, bringing her short arms around his head. He gladly and proudly serves as her fluffy resting place, and the tiny blonde is fast asleep barely seconds later, all snuggled up into his warm fur.

Feeling her breathing slowly even out, the wolf warily re-opens one eye, making sure that she looks fine and that she is comfortable, carefully moving and twisting his long tail around until it's protectively covering her whole, small body exactly like a blanket would. Only then, does he finally become more tranquil and at ease again, cuddling her even closer.

And, from just a few feet away, the rest of the Mikaelsons are looking on with small, fond smiles, genuinely understanding for the first time that together is exactly where those two belong.


	4. 1996

**"He feels it as soon as she is born, that tug at his heartstrings that says his mate has finally come into the world. It's beautiful and terrifying all at once, but most importantly what he has been unknowingly waiting for all along."**

* * *

Caroline is only four when things start to fall apart.

She has been going to kindergarten almost every morning for already a little over a year, making friends and getting used to the idea of school and of being separated from her family for long periods of time, and she has been masterfully ticking off important milestones of her growth practically every single day.

Of course, Klaus never once doubted that his mate–

–his future _Queen_ –

–would slowly mature into a force to be reckoned with, issuing orders left and right and able to make everyone fall in love with her at first sight, so it's no wonder that others and especially the Bennetts and the Gilberts are always thrilled to have her over.

Somehow, the Originals don't even protest, sigh or shake their heads at the fact that she managed to become best friends with a witch-in-the-making and the newest doppelgänger, as if her existence wasn't already enough surrounded by potential dangers. As much as they immediately despise the other two girls and find them somewhat annoying, they know that there is no forbidding Caroline anything and that she needs to be around other children too.

All of that luckily doesn't necessarily end up meaning that she sees any less of them, anyway—she could never live with that, the Mikaelsons are her safe haven–

–her _family_ –

–and she loves them—even if Kol and Rebekah are supposed to be in their third year of college at this point and have to pretend to be taking online classes to be able to stay behind in Mystic Falls with Klaus and Elijah and with her. And it's not like the tiny blonde could be any happier about them remaining close, even when she starts to notice slightly odd behaviors that seem to distinguish them from all of the other teenagers and adults that she knows; a toddler's memory is a funny thing after all, and she has nothing if not vague recollections of wolves and vampires in her life now, all of which her subconscious decides to attribute to old stories and fairytales rather than reality.

They all hate having to lie to her, but it's not the right time for her to know yet and it won't be for a long while. No matter the fact that her Fate is almost a sealed deal, she deserves the power to make her own choices to get there and a chance at a normal life.

"Thank you," Liz smiles up at Klaus, accepting Caroline's glittery, pink backpack from him. It's just past seven in the afternoon, and the cold November air is swishing unmercifully around them while the four-year-old waits a little to the side for her mom. "Work at the station was chaotic today, and I got caught up in paperwork."

The hybrid politely nods once in acknowledgment, loathing but having come to terms with the fact that the Forbes' lives seem to be eternally too busy for their own daughter, the relationship between the two adults having become more and more rocky as more years passed, already tethering on the edge of a divorce.

"It's quite all right," he strains a smile. "We love having Caroline around."

Liz lets out a brief, quiet laughter in response, her head shaking lightly.

"I still wish you would let me pay you."

"It's also been four years, Sheriff," the corners of his Klaus' mouth turn up somewhat fondly despite himself, "you should know better."

After a brief silence, the woman gives a small nod.

"I just hope you know how much I appreciate everything that you do for her," her voice breaks ever so slightly, the hybrid catching it only thanks to his heightened senses. "I'm glad she has you, and that she can count on your family. Me and Bill... we try our best, but it's nice to know that she has more than just two parents."

 _Parents_.

The word echoes in his mind and Klaus suddenly freezes.

"Of... course," he almost stutters, feeling uncharacteristically out of place, just before Liz eventually says her goodbyes and then leaves, a smiling Caroline happily waving her small hand at him as she trails behind her mother to their house.

A moment later, the Original has already closed the front door behind him and walked into the living room in utter silence. His eyes are slightly widened, his features dark, his mind foggy as he puts his sudden realization together piece by piece.

"Nik, are you all right?" he hears Kol ask and absentmindedly turns around to notice that his brother is frowning at him in worry. "You look like you have just seen a ghost."

But Klaus ignores the question, stating something himself instead.

"Caroline sees us as family," he points out, his tone sounding almost scarily numb.

"Uhm, well," Kol's eyebrows furrow even further, confusion coloring his expression. "I would hope so."

The hybrid's jaw clenches in reaction, his teeth pressing harshly together as he speaks again with a harder voice.

"She can't see me as family, Kol. I–I can't see her grow up."

His brother's features seem to suddenly soften in understanding then, something that doesn't happen very often at all.

"Is this about what Liz just said about us being like parents to her? And, yes, before you go all high and mighty on me, I _was_ eavesdropping."

Klaus sighs heavily, pinching the bridge of his nose in annoyance and briefly closing his eyes. He doesn't know what to think, and he has no idea what he should do; why do things always seem to find a way of slipping away from under his control whenever it comes to Caroline?

"She is not wrong, Kol. We were always meant to become Caroline's family, but what if she grows up and ends up seeing me as some sort of older brother figure? I already know that my feelings for her will evolve with time, but she's not a werewolf," he swallows thickly, more dread starting to fill his whole body as he resentfully pushes the next few words past his lips, "she might never feel our connection the way that I do."

Silence.

Complete and tense silence falls on the room as the younger vampire tries to rack his brain for the right answer to give, but seems helplessly unable to do so. Klaus averts his gaze just a moment later, as stoic as ever and unwilling to show even a single shadow of weakness, no matter the fact that he can feel his insides ache in a way unlike any other before.

As much as the mere thought of it pains him and hurts him more than anything else he has ever experienced in his prior thousand years of life–

–of nothing but pitifully _existing_ , without her–

–he knows that there is only one way he can fix the mess that he has created.

Kol seems to read the dangerous way in which the hybrid's whole demeanor suddenly shifts, and, right as the decision becomes fully and irrevocably settled in the latter's mind, asks—

—"What are you going to do, then?"

It's a pause; a breath.

"I need to leave."

Kol gasps, brown eyes wide and appalled.

"What? Nik, you can't—"

"I have to. This..." Klaus shakes his head, the lump that has formed in his throat preventing him to express himself freely, the words stuck on the tip of his tongue, too heavy to be spoken out loud. "I cannot jeopardize it."

"I know," his brother stresses, standing up from the couch that he was previously occupying and moving closer to the older Mikaelson. "But there must be another solution."

"There isn't."

Both Originals immediately turn around towards the source of the newest voice, coming from the small hall at the bottom of the stairs. Elijah is standing there, looking even more severe than usual as he adjusts non-existent wrinkles on the lapels of his dark blue, tailored suit.

"Elijah, come on," Kol tries to reason with both his brothers, grasping at straws. "There already is a special connection between them, and leaving so suddenly would only make matters worse."

The eldest vampire takes his sweet time smoothing down the rest of his jacket before finally raising his gaze and speaking again just as Rebekah appears in the room as well, having heard the whole discussion from upstairs.

"And that is why not all of us are going to leave."

The blonde frowns confusedly from behind him, making him turn around as she chimes in.

"What do you mean?"

Elijah gives her a slightly condescending look.

"I mean that you and Kol would, of course, remain behind to keep Caroline protected."

"And I am all for that," she promptly replies, "but what about you and Nik? We have already made it this far together."

"We will be only a call away," her brother promises her with a soft smile. "We have been away from New Orleans for too long now, the city needs to know who is still in power."

Rebekah's frown deepens. "I thought that was what all of your weekly visits were about."

"It's been years, Rebekah... and we are looking at even more to come, since Caroline is barely four. My visits were always bound to not be enough anymore, eventually. Not to mention that, unlike you two," he briefly lets his gaze shift from his sister to Kol, and then back. "Niklaus and I are here as adults; people will become suspicious once they start to notice that we do not exactly age."

Almost stunned into silence, the blonde turns to her other brothers—and to one, in particular—with parted lips and wide, still bewildered eyes.

"Are you seriously considering this?" she half accuses, shocked.

Klaus' jaw ticks angrily in frustration, and he answers through gritted teeth.

"I am doing more than just considering it, Rebekah."

She scoffs in disbelief. "This is absurd! You can't just up and leave, what are you even going to tell Caroline? And then, do you really believe you can just decide when it's finally time to waltz back into her life? She's already part of this family and I will always look out for her, Nik, even if it's against you."

A tight-lipped, bitter sort of smile tugs at the corners of Klaus' mouth then.

"I am counting on it, little Sister."

Rebekah's scowl sadly softens at that, the blonde finally realizing just how serious her brother is about the situation. For a few moments, she doesn't even know what to say–

–because there is just _so much_ , that nothing sounds or ends up coming out the right way–

–until she finally finds her voice again, asking one simple thing.

"When?"

"Soon. As soon as I can."

She nods curtly, crossing her arms over her chest as if that gesture could somehow keep her from falling apart.

"And what are you going to do, just go back to your old life like nothing ever happened?"

He chuckles somberly. "We both know that I couldn't even if I wanted to. But I do want my own hybrid army, still."

His sister immediately twists her nose upwards in distaste.

"Of course."

"Don't be like that, Rebekah. With me and Elijah gone, you could use a few extra hands around here."

Kol snorts, interrupting his two siblings' almost private conversation.

"And what am I, chopped liver?"

Klaus shots him a look, briefly rolling his eyes and not even sparing his brother an actual reply before refocusing on Rebekah.

"Just until Caroline is older," he adds, his tone and gaze almost pleading. "I will be back, I promise."

The blonde sighs, eventually allowing him a reluctant nod of her head which sets all the rest in motion.

It takes Klaus a few hours to pack most of his belongings, the hybrid almost inadvertently taking things slow to postpone what he knows is inevitable. He still decides to leave a few things behind—some shirts and dark jeans, used brushes and random paintings—mementos of his existence scattered throughout the house that make him hope Caroline won't grow up simply forgetting about him.

And, when he is finally done, he sits on his bed with the windows shut and the lights turned off, encompassed by nothing but haunting darkness. There's a small part of him trying to convince him that he is making a huge and terrible mistake, that it isn't like him to be this selfless–

–because what else, if not utter selflessness, should letting his mate live her own life be?–

–but the truth is that he has never been more selfish in his whole life than in that very moment.

Entrusting Caroline's safety into his siblings' hands is a massive decision and having to be without her for years to come is the worst kind of penance that he could ever fathom, but he knows what their future together is supposed to be like and he _wants_ it; more than anything, he wants to love her and for her to love him back the way mates are supposed to love each other, and he won't let anything and most definitely not himself stand in the way of that, of their happiness.

He has no idea what time it is when Rebekah eventually comes knocking at his bedroom's door, but he does know that it's already— _too fast_ —a new day.

"She is here," the blonde vampire tells him somewhat hesitantly, head peeking inside the room to look at him. He looks tired, and Klaus has never looked anything even remotely close to tired before.

He clears his throat, not having spoken a single word for hours now.

"I will be right down."

But, as soon as he sees Caroline in her jeans and pale orange unicorn shirt, wearing messy pigtails and a beaming smile on her face, he knows that he's the furthest thing from ready to say goodbye to her.

She's a perceptive–

– _perfect_ –

–child, and her nose scrunches up in a small, adorable frown when she senses that something is wrong.

"Why do you all look so sad?"

Rebekah tightly presses her lips together, forcing herself not to cry at the prospect of what is about to happen. She looks between Klaus and Caroline and takes a deep breath.

"We'll leave you two alone."

Observing the three other Mikaelsons leave towards the kitchen, the tiny blonde grows even more confused.

"What's going on?" she asks slowly just as Klaus gathers her up in his arms, going to sit on the couch with her sitting sideways on his legs.

The hybrid bides his time, the words that he knows he has to say swirling ceaselessly around his mind but unwilling to be let out.

Once he says them, he cannot take them back.

"I have to leave, Sweetheart."

The four-year-old's barely-there eyebrows furrow together.

"Okay," she replies somewhat suspiciously, used to him or Elijah staying out of town for a few days at a time. "For how long?"

He harshly swallows the lump in his throat.

"For–for a few years."

"What? No, you _can't_!" Caroline suddenly yells, getting agitated and flailing against him, her whole face reddening as tears start to prick at the corners of her eyes. "You can't leave for that long!"

Klaus tries to calm her down, soothingly cupping her left cheek in his hand and quietly ssh'ing her.

"It's all right, Sweetheart. I promise it's going to be all right."

But she forcefully shakes her head at him, closing her eyes as she cries, hiccuping and sucking in a harsh breath to try and speak through her tears and distress.

" _No_! Why do you want to leave me?" she opens her wet, big, blue eyes into his, her voice suddenly small and insecure as her chin trembles.

"I don't want to leave you. I could never want to leave you," he promises her softly, drying her tear-stricken cheeks and then gently kissing her forehead, whispering against it. "But I have to."

"W–why?"

Klaus smiles sadly down at her as their gazes meet again.

"I can't tell you now, but I will one day."

She sniffles, apparently accepting his answer and briefly hesitating before bringing her trembling right hand up in between them and showing him her little finger.

"Pinky promise?"

He chuckles affectionately, fighting down his own heartache, and then wraps his own finger around hers, delicately shaking them together.

"Pinky promise."

They remain like that for what feels like an eternity, bodies locked into each other as Klaus rocks her softly back and forth and murmurs tender reassurances in her ear. Neither of them knows when they will finally be reunited again–

–but Fate knows that it will be _forever_ , then–

–and it's too hard to let go with such uncertainty hanging over them, so they greedily and selfishly take all that they can.

Eventually, it's Elijah who quietly comes into the room and diverts his younger brother's attention, motioning for him in a heavy but silent sign that the time has at last come for them to go.

Klaus has waited for Caroline to stumble into his existence for centuries, and he is sure that he can work with a few more years, even if this time he is going to know all too well what it is that his life is missing.

When he moves to cross the threshold, his heart as heavy as stone and about to break just as fatally, the tiny blonde is still crying helplessly into Kol's shoulder.

"I understand why you are doing it," Rebekah tells him right before he goes. "I don't agree with it, but I understand. But will she? Will she really ever forgive you for leaving her?"

The hybrid looks back at his mate for one, long, last time, conscious that he is leaving his whole world behind with–

– _in_ –

–her.

"I can only hope so."


	5. 1999

**"He feels it as soon as she is born, that tug at his heartstrings that says his mate has finally come into the world. It's beautiful and terrifying all at once, but most importantly what he has been unknowingly waiting for all along."**

* * *

Even if she is constantly surrounded by people who love her unconditionally, it turns out that Caroline's life—that her whole _being_ —is defined and marked the most by the ones who leave her behind.

She is indeed not even at the end of first grade when her parents finally tell her that they are separating and, suddenly, everything somehow seems to make so much more sense than it did before. Suddenly, she understands why life at home has always felt so much different compared to what she would witness at the Gilberts', why lunches and dinners together with both her dad and mom brought about a kind of heaviness which is irrevocably etched deep in her soul; she understands the yells and the anger that she wishes she could forget, the slammed doors that still ring loudly in her ears, and the void in her heart that she had never been able to give a name to until now.

Perhaps she is too young to actually, properly rationalize all of it, but some remote and more sensitive part of her still grasps at it and understands it. And when the memory of her first time trying to put a jigsaw puzzle together, stubbornly pushing uneven pieces next to each other and willing them to fit, swirls back into her mind, she remembers Kol telling her with an affectionately low tone that just because something can stay still in a place does not mean that that's where it belongs. Unlike that day, she gets it now.

And so she cries. Not out of sadness or out of pain, but out of numbness, silently mourning the innocent serenity that she knows she will never get back.

Her parents carelessly look on as she crumbles–

–and is it supposed to be _this hard this soon_ , with her mother's eyes cold and detached and her father clearly inconvenienced by her heartache–

–so she ends up where she always does: with the Mikaelsons; or with what is left of them, anyway.

Kol and Rebekah sweetly make her hot cocoa, sitting together with her on their couch and truly _listening_ , which is more than can be said for anybody else. Because they are never condescending with her, not for one single moment, and they care—she _knows_ they do; they are the only ones who care.

"Did your parents love each other?" she asks out of the blue at one point, sniffling quietly as she looks up towards the two awaiting siblings with big, wet eyes. "Did they love you?"

Rebekah's hand freezes through the soft, blond tendrils of Caroline's long hair, and Kol's eyes widen for an instant so quick that it almost feels as if it never happened.

Neither of the two Originals doubts that their parents had once genuinely loved each other and certainly even them, but all of that has been long erased and destroyed by centuries upon centuries of atrocious betrayals, by centuries of having to run away from their very own father as he chased after them and hunted them down like animals. To them, their _parents_ –

–a word now spat bitterly in their minds, a word that holds no meaning anymore–

–had been dead long before they actually managed to defeat them.

But they know that it's not what Caroline needs to hear in that moment, and they tacitly agree that it should be Klaus' story to tell when the time eventually comes.

So Rebekah answers without answering.

"Your parents love you, Caroline," the vampire reassures the smaller blonde, her tone tender and soothing as her fingers slowly start to thread down the child's locks once again, "very much."

"But Daddy is leaving," the six-year-old retorts quietly, her chin trembling slightly and her blue eyes shining with new, unshed tears as she blinks.

Rebekah smiles sadly down at her, holding the girl closer. "Not you."

And, despite herself, even if immediately registering that it is not Rebekah's promise to make or keep, Caroline decides to believe it.

For a whole week, the young blonde shows up at school smiling toothily at everyone and pretending that everything is perfectly all right, but, when Bill Forbes eventually announces that he is permanently moving away to Georgia—

—"I will always love you, Carebear," the brown-haired man said, his tone and eyes almost genuine enough to convince her that he was telling the truth, that he meant it. "I am not leaving forever. I'll be back, and you can come to me whenever you want to."

Caroline slowly nodded her head at such words, looking down, the motion a mixture of uncertainty and disappointment. She already knew that nothing was ever again going to be the same in her life, that the physical distance between her and her father was going to take no more than a couple of months to become an emotional one as well, and she hated him for not realizing it himself, for not caring enough.

Instead, Bill smiled–

–he looked happier than she ever remembered seeing him, and it _hurt_ –

–crouching down slightly so that he could match her height.

"I have a present for you," he added, producing a small, square box covered in red paper and a tall, yellow bow out of his back pocket, as if that could have been the key to fixing everything that was already forever broken.

She took the object with hesitant hands, opening it easily but carefully, wanting to be able to later store away the scraps of it as she always did with gifts.

It was a bracelet with two small charms, a 'C' and a 'F'.

"So you will always have me close," the man explained gently as he helped her clip the silver band around her thin wrist, "even when I'm not with you. So you will always remember me."

Encompassed by the sudden feeling that she was going to be the one to get forgotten, the blonde answered with a choked tone.

"I love you, Daddy."—

—it only ends up making her tiny and fragile heart break even more irremediably.

However, there is nothing that she can do to change things, and so she is forced to watch as her father gets into his car and then slowly disappears from her sight, her barely held together notion of family shattering before her very eyes once and for all.

It certainly doesn't help that Liz throws herself even more into her work after that, and it starts to become hard for Caroline to associate spending time with Kol and Rebekah with anything other than her growing feelings of abandonment.

The two Originals notice, and the more they update Klaus on what is going on, the more they know that the inevitable is approaching.

"You can't be here," Rebekah half hisses one day, turning around to make sure that Caroline is nowhere in sight before promptly stepping outside on the porch and closing the front door behind her.

" _She needs me_ ," the hybrid currently blocking her path growls back, hands clenching tightly into fists at his sides.

"True. But then you are just going to leave again, Nik, and that would only do more harm than good. I told you that I would _always_ put her first."

Klaus' jaw ticks angrily in reaction, his teeth grinding together as he somehow tries to keep his rage at bay.

During the last two years, four months and seven days, all he has had of Caroline—of his mate, of his _life_ —have been fleeting pictures unable to capture her real beauty and third-person reports letting him know whether she was happy or sad, tranquil or excited, if she had the flu or had made any new friends. And, no matter the fact that he's fully aware that he has been the one to make the decision to at least physically distance himself from her for the time being–

–painfully sacrificing their present for the sake of their vast, broad _future_ –

–none of it is enough. After so long, he is starting to feel himself precariously teetering right on the edge of insanity, and Rebekah's latest call telling him just how alone and forsaken Caroline is feeling right now had been the last straw.

He needs to see her; he needs to make sure she realizes that she will _never_ truly be alone if she doesn't want to.

But his sister does have a point, and his whole body seems to drop and hunch on itself as he acknowledges the reality of the situation.

"Then, what am I supposed to do?" he asks, his voice raw and low and his eyes helpless, everything about him uncharacteristically showing how utterly wrecked and vulnerable he is when it comes to Caroline.

Rebekah's gaze can't help but soften in response.

"I don't know," she sighs tiredly, "I really don't know. But I promise you that Kol and I will take good care of her. This isn't the first time that we have to deal with her this way."

Somewhat surprisingly, the blonde's tone isn't spiteful or accusing, but that doesn't stop Klaus' features from immediately hardening at the reminder of how much he has hurt the only person whom he would have never wanted to suffer at his own hands.

After an infinite series of silent minutes, the hybrid nods, the movement curt and almost imperceptible if not for his sister's heightened vampire senses. He swallows thickly and shakily inhales a breath that he does not need as he turns his head to the side to hide the myriad of different emotions flickering through his hooded eyes.

Traitorously, his mind suddenly focuses on one, distant memory—

—"What color now, Sweetheart?" Klaus asked, looking down at an eighteen-month-old Caroline who was comfortably snuggled into his lap with adoring, shining eyes.

The blonde contemplated his question for a little while, blue orbs trained on the messily painted canvas in front of them; when she couldn't seem to decide, she huffed cutely through her tiny nose.

Softly kissing the top of her head, the Original chuckled affectionately at her reaction.

"Shall we go with your favorite, then?" he proposed, bringing the palette over to her like he had already done so many times that day.

She immediately perked up at that, looking up at him with wide eyes and emitting a small gasp.

"'ellow!" she confirmed excitedly, raising her short, pastel-pink-wool-covered arm and wiggling her ready hand at him.

With a fond smile, Klaus nodded towards the various colors at her disposal, laughing again as the baby all but smashed her tiny, chubby hand down onto the small puddle of yellow and then giggled happily to herself.

Rebekah definitely was not going to be pleased that they had already stained Caroline's brand-new cardigan, but little could the hybrid bring himself to care as he observed his mate leaving hand-shaped strokes of light all over the dark and lonely blue of his painting.—

—and when his sister's lips part as if she wants to say more, he's gone in a flash.

The vampire keeps on wistfully observing the now empty space in front of her for a few moments, before sighing once more and then slowly re-entering the house. When she turns around, she is surprised to find Caroline expectantly waiting for her in the middle of the living room.

"Who was that?" the girl asks with a confused frown marring her soft features. She is regarding the older blonde with somewhat knowing eyes, but the latter tells herself that she couldn't possibly, actually _know_ –

–but is that the truth, when her existence is irrevocably tied to Klaus' by the strongest of bonds; when the universe is fated to bring them together?–

–and affords her a tight-lipped smile instead.

"Where's Kol?"

"Still making—well, trying to make—Tiramisu. I got bored," Caroline shrugs, repeating herself right after as her gaze shifts to the open window to hopefully catch a glimpse of whoever had just been there. "Who was at the door?"

Rebekah strains a wider smile then, walking to the six-year-old and promptly steering her back towards the kitchen. When she finally answers, her reply cuts sharply through her own skin and bones, the words making her heart clench painfully beneath her ribcage as she utters them.

"Nobody, Carebear. Nobody of importance."

Kol looks at his sister with a hint of judgment hidden among the storm of sympathy that his deep brown eyes are conveying, but remains otherwise silent, dutifully going back to working on the special Italian dessert that he wants Caroline to try out.

After all, what else is there to say? All that really matters is that, hours later, the tiny blonde seems to leave their house with a rediscovered conviction in her lately less than bright disposition.

But what they don't know is that, once finally back in her room, Caroline only briefly hesitates before cautiously tugging the only painting of Klaus' that she had kept off her yellow wall. She knows that she loved him and that she was closer to him than she could ever hope to be to Kol or Rebekah, but her memories of him are unrelentingly fading away with each passing moment... every single one except for the ones of the day that he had left her, and those are memories that she does not need nor want anymore.

So she pulls out an old, empty shoe-box from the very back of her wardrobe and lays the single piece of paper with the dark blue background lit up by seemingly random and uneven strokes of yellow—she remembers it being cut out from a larger canvas—down into it, carefully smoothing its edges to make it fit. She observes it closely for a little while, her upper teeth worrying her small bottom lip, but then she eventually manages to tear her gaze away and doesn't waste any time shaking her father's bracelet off her wrist and depositing it right on top of the painting. Those are two mementos that belong together, but not in her life.

With one last, determined nod to herself, Caroline finally closes the box, pushing everything under her bed and leaving.

That's the day she unconsciously stops believing in happy endings.


	6. 2002

**"He feels it as soon as she is born, that tug at his heartstrings that says his mate has finally come into the world. It's beautiful and terrifying all at once, but most importantly what he has been unknowingly waiting for all along."**

* * *

Eventually, everything goes back to normal—or, better yet, a new normal is created.

Klaus makes good on his promise and stays far away in New Orleans. It's the hardest thing that he has ever had to do in his whole, centuries-long existence–

–when his existence is a _battlefield_ –

–and no, it does not get any better or easier as time passes. He is almost unconsciously counting down the days, if anything, as a self-inflicted penance for all the wrongs that he has done in the past and that he will forever keep on doing. But, still, he manages; he concentrates on his kingdom and on the quest to build his own hybrid army and, at least on that one front, he seems to be making progress.

"Here are the vials that you have asked for, Sir," Josh, one of his vampires—all of whom have pledged their loyalty to him and are compelled to always do his bidding—enters the hybrid's studio after having knocked, carefully laying a silver tray on the expensive ebony of the Original's desk.

The latter gives him a curt nod and the dark-haired boy leaves the room right after, dutifully closing the door behind him and leaving his creator to closely observe the enticing, flowing blood safely contained in those vials.

With a slight grin, Klaus finally picks one of them up, curiously twirling the glass in between his right thumb and forefinger and inspecting the red liquid inside of it. Finally, he believes to have found the way to turn other werewolves into hybrids like him, into beings more powerful than normal vampires and nearly indestructible, perfect to help his siblings look after Caroline and keep her safe while he's gone–

–because the mere thought that something could ever happen to his mate has him unable to move, to breathe, to live; like a constant weight crushing his heart, a dead organ that beats for her only–

–until he can do so himself again.

After all, Esther had locked his wolf side away through Tatia's blood, and he finally achieved to set it free after sacrificing Katerina... it only makes sense that it's once again a doppelgänger to be vital to the transition.

And he was in luck, for once, because there is only one currently alive in the world and he already knew exactly where to find her.

 _Mystic Falls_.

Because the blood that he is currently, intently looking at belongs to none other than Elena Gilbert, the same Elena Gilbert with whom his Caroline has weekly tea parties and coddles dolls.

Surprisingly enough, convincing his little sister to get some samples of the young girl's blood for him wasn't as easy as he would have first believed—

—"You know that I loathe the mere mention of the doppelgänger's existence, but I am _not_ drawing blood from Caroline's ten-year-old best friend!" the blonde immediately put her foot down, almost screeching at him through the phone-line.

"Very well," Klaus answered evenly, sounding extremely too composed and making Rebekah frown suspiciously in confusion. "Could you please put Kol on the phone, then?"

"Oh my God, _Nik_!"—

—but she eventually did, which is all that matters.

Once upon a time, he promised Caroline that he would always protect her—

—"Look again," the three-year-old begged him in a tiny voice, half of the letters caught in her still slightly clumsy pronunciation as she brought her fluffy, pink comforter higher up all the way to her chin.

Of course, Klaus did as asked, crouching down on his knees for the second time to check under the blonde's bed—her room at the Mikaelsons' wasn't a nursery anymore, hadn't been for a little while—for possible monsters. It was ironic, really; she had no idea that _he_ was the deadliest monster to exist out there, and that she had him completely wrapped around her little finger.

Once his inspection had been thoroughly completed, he stood back up and moved to carefully sit on one side of the bed.

"It's all clear," he softly dimpled down at her, genuine affection lacing his words.

"Are you sure?" she pressed quietly, blue eyes shifting uncertainly around the darkened room.

The Original nodded, passing her yellow Care Bear over to her—the stuffed animal had become somewhat worn out over the years, but it still was her favorite—as he always did just before bedtime.

"I am," he reassured her with a smile, slightly lowering towards her to press a delicate kiss on her forehead just as Caroline held her toy closer under the blankets. "You don't have to worry, Sweetheart. I will never let anything happen to you, I promise."

A huge, beaming smile suddenly appeared on the child's face then, and she snuggled against her pillow with a contented sigh. Finally, she closed her eyes and let herself drift off to sleep under the hybrid's watchful and loving gaze.

In fairytales, she knew Princesses always had their own Princes to ward off monsters; she had her own _Nik_.—

—and he would sooner die–

–and he's _immortal_ –

–than break that promise.

So he seeks out Elijah and then calls one of the werewolves from the pack that he has last brought to New Orleans into his studio.

"Aiden," the hybrid pats him on the shoulder as a mischievous grin takes over his lips. "The time has come for you to finally make yourself useful around here."

The boy rightfully shudders, blue eyes moving towards Elijah in obvious fear, almost as if the old vampire could help him somehow. He knows that Klaus' plan is to turn and sire entire packs of wolves, and, while that would free him and his friends from having to painfully turn every full moon, he is also aware of the fact that the Original's experiments have been plenty before him but have never had a successful outcome—he does not want to die.

"Oh, come on," Klaus chuckles in a low tone when he notices the werewolf's apprehension, a dangerous glint shining bright at the corners of his eyes. "Why that long face?"

But Aiden doesn't have the time to answer, he doesn't even have the time to breathe in one last gulp of air before the hybrid is suddenly behind him, forcing his blood down his throat as he struggles helplessly for his life. The last sound he hears is the loud _crack_ of his own neck twisting unnaturally to the side, and then everything fades to black.

Elijah sighs in a disinterested manner, paying more attention to a slightly wrinkled spot on the right sleeve of his dark blue suit jacket than to his brother or to the momentarily dead body lying on the floor at his feet.

"Was that really necessary, Niklaus?"

"He's dead, isn't he?" the other Original smirks. "That was the point."

"Gloating does not suit you."

Klaus' grin is positively sinful as it widens across his features.

"Oh, I believe it does."

And he's right, because, when Aiden wakes up half an hour later, all it takes is a few drops of the newest doppelgänger's blood circling through his system for the young werewolf to be reborn as a hybrid. He's his first one, and therefore also the most important in a way; once properly trained, it comes more natural than Klaus would like to admit to send him to Mystic Falls.

It has been a decade now; a decade since Caroline first came into the world only to completely turn his carefully compartmentalized one upside down, and he knows that he would wait another thousand years for her if he had to. He has already waited his whole life, after all.

However, Rebekah is hesitant when he tells her.

"I don't know, Nik. Some things have been happening lately..."

The hybrid's tone immediately hardens, his body stiffening.

"What kind of things? Is Caroline all right, Rebekah?"

"She is, she's perfectly fine," the blonde hurries to reply, detecting the veiled threat in her brother's question. "But you know that some Bennetts are here, and the doppelgänger. There have been a few weird attacks in the last month, which makes me believe that other vampires or werewolves are in town as well."

She can almost hear his jaw clench angrily through the phone, terror suddenly coursing through his veins.

" _If it is not safe_ —"

"It is, Nik, I promise. You know that I would never put Caroline in danger. But the town's Council is currently on the lookout for anything supernatural, and I don't think it's a good idea to add your hybrids to the mix."

"Just one," he presses.

Rebekah sighs heavily, still torn. "I don't know."

"Since when does the Council know about the supernatural, anyway?"

"I kind of think they have known all along; this is Mystic Falls, after all," she points out, conscious of the fact that, even before Esther turned them into vampires, werewolves and witches had always populated the area. Klaus hums his agreement, half lost in thought. "They were just keeping quiet about it because nothing was out of the ordinary."

"You sound a little bit too informed, Sister," the hybrid comments sharply. "I do not want you or Kol snooping around and making them suspicious."

"We're not. Kol just overhears things whenever he's at the Forbes' with Caroline."

Klaus frowns then. "What do you mean? Is Liz involved?"

"Well, she _is_ the Sheriff and still technically part of a founding family."

"And you're sure that she does not suspect a thing about us?"

"Positive. So, please, don't send any of your minions here to screw us over."

He grinds his teeth together, unwilling to concede.

"We'll see."

"Goo—"

" _Bekah, Bekah!"_

Klaus' breath suddenly hitches in his throat.

He feels stuck, dizzy, almost as if detached from his own body as his heart begins to pound frantically beneath his ribcage. His siblings are always careful to contact him when Caroline is not around and, aside from the countless of memories that he replays in his mind every single day–

–but they do not do her justice, they never could–

–as a masochist of the truest kind, he hasn't heard her voice in almost six years.

He isn't sure if this a dream or a nightmare, for he wants it but it's tearing him apart from the inside out at the same time.

" _The new wolves documentary is about to start, hurry up!"_ the tiny voice orders, bossy and obviously excited.

" _I'll be right with you, Care,"_ Rebekah answers with a short laugh, uselessly trying to cover the receiver with her hand. _"Just a moment."_

The girl huffs impatiently but goes back to wait in the living room nonetheless, leaving the blonde Original alone once again.

"I'm sorry—"

"It's all right," Klaus briskly interrupts his sister, his tone choked; the last thing that he needs or wants right now is somebody else's pity.

Still, the blonde's voice has perceptibly softened when she speaks again.

"I have to go, now."

"Of course. I will let you know whether or not you should expect any hybrids in the upcoming days."

His words ring with a finality that leaves no room for argument, and Rebekah silently accepts the fact that her brother needs to feel in control of at least _something_ at the moment.

"And, Rebekah?" the hybrid calls after her just before either of them can hang up.

She waits patiently as he seems to struggle with himself for what to say and for how to say it.

"Tomorrow... wish her a happy birthday on my behalf, too."

A sad, tight-lipped smile slightly curves the edges of the younger Mikaelson's lips.

"I will."

And she does.

But Caroline's eyes seem to suddenly shine a little less brightly at the mention of Klaus and Elijah and how much they must be missing her and would have loved to be there with her instead, even as she blows out the ten pink candles adorning her chiffon cake, and so Rebekah wishes that she never did.

She promises to herself that she never again will.


	7. 2007

**"He feels it as soon as she is born, that tug at his heartstrings that says his mate has finally come into the world. It's beautiful and terrifying all at once, but most importantly what he has been unknowingly waiting for all along."**

* * *

"No."

One of Kol's eyebrows immediately shoots up to the middle of his forehead, a mixture of surprise and amusement coloring his ever-young features.

"No?"

" _No_ ," Caroline repeats, her tone becoming—if possible—even more forceful than the first time as she haughtily crosses her arms over her chest and fiercely stares back into the other's gaze. "I won't let you, or Bekah, decide who can be my Miss Mystic date. I mean, what is this, the Fifties?" she scoffs. "Not even my mom is this controlling."

The vampire in front of her barely bites back a rude remark, starting to find the situation a lot more frustrating than funny.

He takes a deep breath and tries to go down the pleading route; out-bossing Caroline Forbes was simply _not_ a thing after all, not even for centuries-old killing machines.

"You know how boys are, Carebear," Kol tries, giving her his best possible version of puppy dog eyes. "I'd feel better if you attended with someone who I can trust."

But the blonde simply rolls her eyes at him then, lips twitching upwards.

"It's a _pageant_ , Kol, not some weird and shady ball. Honestly, I couldn't care less about who my date is as long as he knows how to dance properly, which means that I'm not going to sneak away to make out with him somewhere else. _I want to win_ , not be the second coming of Hayley Marshall," Caroline shudders, recalling the disastrous events of the previous year's ceremony and the reason why the Miss Mystic Falls buffet can now only offer water as a drink.

"Still—"

" _Seriously_?" the fourteen-year-old interrupts him before he can utter more than a single word, her thin eyebrows raised almost daringly. After a brief, silent moment, she releases a tired huff and dramatically spins around to go sit on the couch. "This is ridiculous. If I didn't know any better, I'd think there was something that you're not telling me."

Kol immediately freezes, brown eyes widening almost comically as he feels something very akin to anxiety warming up his whole body for the first time in probably decades.

However, luckily for him, Caroline is still turned the other way and speaks again before he can reply and dig himself any deeper.

"I mean, there always need to be 'security measures'," she rants, actually using air-quotes—he blames Rebekah—as she goes, "or whatever. Am I the President's or a king's illegitimate child, or something?"

The Original watches her plop herself down on the leather of the couch with a small grin now tugging at the corners of his mouth, rolling his eyes halfheartedly.

"You aren't."

Caroline scowls in response, only half mocking in her disappointment.

"Well, I guess that means I need to cross out _The Princess Diaries_ and the like from the list of potential scenarios my life could turn out to be."

One eyebrow once again arched, Kol tries to rein in at least some of his amusement.

"Sorry?"

"It's fine," the blonde merely shrugs, although exhaling a somewhat wistful and resigned sigh. "I still have _Twilight_ on there."

In the kitchen, Rebekah chokes on her coffee.

But all that matters is that, in the end, Aiden—and it's a total coincidence that the only hybrid Klaus has managed to send to Mystic Falls is gay, _of course_ —turns out to be an extremely skilled and trained dancer.

At first, Caroline is skeptical–

–in a _why should I even give your 'supposed cousin' who has been creepily living with us for almost three years now the time of a day_ kind of skeptical–

–but he is too good a partner to pass up, her stubborn pride be damned for once.

"Nik would be proud that I convinced her," Kol comments smugly as he and Rebekah observe Caroline twirling around their spacious living room—couches moved all the way against the wall, for the time being—just two days before the fateful day, making a huge show of brushing off one of his shoulders and then the other.

The blonde vampire beside him scoffs, tearing her eyes away from the pair currently taking a small break and turning towards her brother with a disbelieving and almost disgusted expression distorting her features.

"I'm sorry, _you_ convinced her? Because I am pretty sure that Aiden did all the convincing by himself."

"Don't be jealous," the other Mikaelson's impish smirk easily stretches across his lips. "Green is not a good color on you, Bekah."

" _I'm not jealous_ ," she protests, somewhat petulantly. "I just—"

"You just want to remain Nik's favorite sibling. I mean, I get it," his tone turns awfully mocking and condescending, "he can be fickle, that one."

Rebekah is going through the again and again tried motion of rolling her eyes at her brother's immaturity, when Caroline suddenly chips in.

"Nik?" she asks, only half genuinely curious as she moves closer to the two Originals with an empty water bottle in her hand. "Who's Nik? Another weird, distant cousin of yours?" her voice is smooth and teasing, but her question leaves Kol and Rebekah utterly petrified, deathly cold ice suddenly hardening their bones.

They were both always aware of the fact that, throughout the years, all of Caroline's memories of Klaus had been slowly ebbing away piece by piece; it's only natural for teenagers to have little to no recollection of their childhood, after all, for them to remember nothing more than random days and occurrences and relegate some people to mere ghosts stemmed from their very own imagination.

And it is not like the names of the two Originals currently busy running a supernatural kingdom down in New Orleans have been uttered even just once in the past five years–

–because _nothing_ should ever be worth more than Caroline's happiness and serenity–

–so what exactly were they expecting, really?

It still hurts, however... the reminder, the final knowledge that she has forgotten the one person who loves her the most in this world; it settles heavy upon their unbeating hearts, rendering them mute and breathless for a long, tense moment.

The young human frowns at their prolonged silence, eyebrows furrowed together.

"Is everything okay?" she asks, suddenly concerned.

It's enough to startle them both back to the present.

"Yes, of course," Kol is the one to answer, his voice hurried and a tad too high-pitched to fully convince the fourteen-year-old standing in front of him. "Why wouldn't it be?"

The suspicious look that Caroline shoots him then speaks for itself, but the blonde graciously decides to let the subject drop and the two vampires exhale a sigh of relief almost in sync. It's a sort of small miracle all in itself, for their brother's mate most certainly shares his immense stubbornness and barely ever yields on anything—

—" _Mine_!"

"No, Caroline, this doll isn't yours," Rebekah admonished gently as she tried to pry the toy away from the twenty-month-old's surprisingly strong hands, although to no avail.

Standing a little bit more to the side, Klaus half huffed through his nose at the scene unfolding before him, every single cell in his body hating the sight of a distressed Caroline.

"Just let her keep the bloody doll, Rebekah," he ground out irritably.

The comment immediately earned him an incredulous look from his sister, who was eyeing him as if he had suddenly grown a second head.

"It's not hers, Nik," the blonde repeated, subtly craning her neck to the left and motioning towards a little girl desperately crying and pointing at the doll cuddled in Caroline's tiny arms— _her_ doll—as her mother rather rightfully glared up at Klaus.

But the hybrid simply rolled his eyes in response, becoming somewhat amused at the situation despite Rebekah's annoyance. Once again, he focused his attention on the only toddler whom he actually cared about, taking in her wide and pleading blue orbs and wobbling bottom lip; he was a goner–

–had been for over a year, and he wouldn't have wanted it any other way.

With a sigh, he dug into one of his pants' back pockets and extracted a couple of hundred-dollar bills from it as he approached the other girl's mother.

Before the woman could even think of voicing her outrage at what Klaus was obviously attempting to do, her gaze was suddenly trapped into the Original's magnetic stare, eyes dull and empty.

"Everything is all right here, love," he smirked, easily handing her the money. "Now, why don't you decide to buy your child something else?"

The woman nodded like in a trance, pulling her still crying daughter along as she left the mall's small, indoor playground.

"Off you go."

" _Nik_!" Rebekah complained in a loud and whiny tone not even an instant later, making him groan under his breath. "You did not just do that! Caroline is going to grow up spoiled rotten because of you, this is unbelievable."

Momentarily ignoring his sister, Klaus turned around and crouched down on his knees to reach the tiny blonde's level and scoop her up in his arms, the doll following suit.

"Says the person who has just bought her five thousand dollars' worth of new clothes," he eventually quipped, pointedly nodding towards the heap of bags that the other vampire was in the meantime collecting up in her arms.

Rebekah had the decency to appear bashful then, and the hybrid concentrated back on the almost two-year-old who was happily giggling at him, the action never failing to make his dead heart warm in the most beautiful of ways.

"'oll, pwetty!" Caroline excitedly showed him her new toy, unapologetically thrusting it right into his face.

He chuckled, carefully pushing the doll away from between them so that he could smile down at her.

"Never as pretty as you are, Sweetheart."

The baby's whole face suddenly scrunched up in reaction, and she shyly closed her eyes before throwing herself even more against him, her tiny body all snuggled into his as she babbled adorably against his shoulder.

A few minutes later, as the three of them made their way back through the shopping center with Caroline still in Klaus' arms and curiously observing her surroundings, they passed another kid merrily enjoying an ice-cream cone.

The blonde's eyes followed him and she frowned, clearly upset, the doll immediately falling to the ground with a _thud_ so that she could wiggle towards the frozen treat instead.

" _Mine_!"—

—making their lives rather difficult from time to time.

But she is _family_ –

–and _they love her_ –

–and nothing could ever be more important than that.

"Yes, Nik," Kol reassures his brother through the phone for the millionth time, the day of the pageant having at last arrived. Their sister is upstairs, helping Caroline get ready with everybody else—the Lockwoods' mansion is elegant and monumental, he will give them that—and the brown-haired vampire's tone is tired and exasperated as he speaks. "We have everything under control, don't worry."

"All of the Council people will be in attendance," the hybrid reminds him stiffly, almost as if it wasn't Kol himself to have alerted him of the fact. "You will have to be extra careful."

" _I know_ ," the younger Original stresses, half rolling his eyes. "It will all go off without a hitch, I promise."

Of course, it doesn't.

Right in the middle of their slow, excuse-me-but-it-took-weeks-to-learn-and-refine-to-perfection dance, Aiden suddenly falls down onto his knees, groaning in pain as he clutches his temples. The Mayor follows immediately after, and then his son Tyler, and then others; suddenly, it's utter chaos.

"We have to leave. _Now_."

Caroline gasps as she swiftly spins around, right hand resting on her heaving chest.

" _Kol_ —how did you get here so fast?"

"Later," he promises mindlessly as his eyes survey the situation: people screaming and crying while running every which way, police officers taking a hold of everyone who seems to be affected by whatever is going on.

The Original tugs the blonde behind him as forcefully as he can without actually hurting her, the only thought currently driving him the need to bring her away to safety.

"Aiden!" she suddenly remembers, looking back and trying to locate the black-haired boy among the mass of frenzied people. "He's hurt... we need to—"

"There's no time."

Scowling deeply, Caroline somehow manages to snatch her arm back from Kol's grasp, massaging the slightly sore spot there.

He turns to look at her with wild and crazy eyes, the likes of which scares her for a moment.

"What do you mean _there's no time_?" she cries out, appalled. "He's your cousin, your _family_!"

"No, Caroline," the vampire's hands suddenly come up to grip her shoulders almost desperately, his whole body tense; he rarely ever uses her full name, and it's only then that she realizes how serious he is being. " _You_ are my family. And, always and forever, family above all."

The teenager remains silent, looking at him with unshed tears biting at the corners of her deep blue eyes. She is confused—unbelievably so—but, if there is one thing that she is completely sure of, it's that she can trust Kol to always protect her... her memories are proof over proof of that. And so, at last, she nods.

Another shocked gasp leaves her when he suddenly flashes—like _flash_ -flashes—them away.

A second later, they are back home.

"Wh–what just happened?" the human's widened eyes repeatedly shift between Kol and Rebekah, the latter having already been there when they arrived. "How did you just—am I dreaming? I must be dreaming; or, well, having a nightmare," she starts to rant almost only to herself, nervously pacing the length of the Mikaelsons' living room. "Yeah, definitely a nightmare, since the pageant got interrupted before I could win."

" _Caroline_."

Her head immediately whips towards the voice, eyes still big and alarmed.

"Uh?"

Rebekah's lips twitch upwards slightly, forming a sort of amused smile despite the gravity of the situation.

"Calm down."

"Calm down?" the other blonde repeats, incredulous as she laughs somewhat eerily, arms up in the air. "Kol has superhero powers and I'm supposed to _calm down_?"

The vampire in question scoffs then, both looking and sounding rather offended as he folds his arms across his chest.

"That's ridiculous, I'm not a superhero."

Caroline sighs heavily, starting to feel the first symptoms of a headache as she briefly closes her eyes.

"Then _what_ are you?"

"Oh, darling," Kol's smirk widens proudly, a hint of slyness now coloring his features, "I'm a vampire."

And then they explain her everything—well, _some things_.

They tell her about the supernatural and about Mystic Falls' legacy of witches, werewolves and vampires; they tell her about the Council and her mother, and that the town is dangerous for beings like them. And she believes them— _of course_ she does, without even feeling afraid of them for one single moment—because she can see why they have kept quiet about it for so long, ever since she was born.

The Miss Mystic Falls ceremony was apparently nothing but a trap, set up to identify whoever, among their population, wasn't human. But simple spells don't work on them–

–they are the _original_ vampires, they say–

–and Aiden was unfortunate collateral damage. And even if the words 'Klaus' or 'mate' never make it into the conversation–

–even if the two of them are already irrevocably meant to be, Caroline's current life and choices should be nobody's but _her own_ –

–the young blonde already knows that her life will never again be the same, not when the few people who she actually considers family are quite possibly at war with each other.

So she wills herself to stay strong, and takes a deep breath.

"Well," the fourteen-year-old awkwardly stretches the word out, clearing her throat and effectively breaking the tense silence that had been encompassing her and the two Mikaelsons for the past few minutes. "I guess I was right about _Twilight_ , then?"


	8. 2010

**"He feels it as soon as she is born, that tug at his heartstrings that says his mate has finally come into the world. It's beautiful and terrifying all at once, but most importantly what he has been unknowingly waiting for all along."**

* * *

Somehow, the situation does not end up being nearly as bad as one could have first believed.

The fact that _the Mayor_ , of all people, and his son are supernatural beings—untriggered werewolves, Caroline learns—has everyone take a giant step back. The Lockwoods are one of the founding families after all, and they have been at the head of the Council for over a century; everyone in town knows and trusts them, and, even if there's a sudden sort of hesitancy hovering around them, nobody can bring themselves to hate or fear them, to cast them aside.

Out of the blue, the supernatural doesn't feel so mysterious or unknown anymore... it's–

– _they_ are–

–familiar.

Not that precautions aren't taken, of course. Only the Council is really aware of what is going on and its mercy does not extend too far, everybody else affected during Miss Mystic Falls promptly forced to leave town or pay with their life—

—"Did you know?" Liz Forbes showed up on the Mikaelsons' doorstep a couple of hours after the ceremony had been cut short, with an incapacitated Aiden in tow and a lot of questions on her mind. Her expression was set, blank almost, but her eyes were hard and angry.

Kol and Rebekah knew that she was on vervain and, added to the fact that they obviously could not hurt her—for how much of a terrible parent the older woman had always been, it would still mean hurting Caroline as a consequence, which was something that went against their very nature—they weren't left with much choice about what to do.

They weren't left with anything, if not the truth.

"Yes."

The single word seemed to echo around them for a few, long moments, the Sheriff's hazel eyes widening as the meaning of the two Originals' answer slowly washed over her.

"You're..." she gulped, took a step back mostly unconsciously, "vampires, too."

It all suddenly made so much more sense then: the power and the money, the air of mystery constantly surrounding them, and the not-aging that had simply been attributed to a remarkable gene pool. She had been a fool to not put everything together sooner, especially when the pieces had been right under her nose from the very start.

But, first—

"What do you want from my daughter?" her whole demeanor hardened; for all of her faults, Caroline was everything to her, and she would die to protect her if it came down to it.

Realizing that the three of them had a very long and tiring conversation ahead, Rebekah sighed, opening the front door wider.

"Come in," she proposed, the hint of a plea in her tone.

Liz's gaze shifted around uncomfortably, from one sibling to the other, but she eventually entered the house with Aiden's body still trailing behind her.

"Mom?"

The woman turned around, inhaling a shaky breath.

"Caroline?" she questioned, immediately running to her daughter and holding her close. "You're safe," she whispered.

The fourteen-year-old accepted her mother's hug with a slight frown marring her features, bemused.

"Of course I am, why wouldn't I be?"

"Back at the Lockwoods, everything happened so fast and I lost sight of you _and_ —" Liz shook her head, suddenly overwhelmed with emotions, and the younger blonde's expression softened in understanding.

Caroline nodded, before another thought suddenly sparked in her mind.

"About that," she edged tentatively, folding her arms across her chest as she fidgeted slightly on her feet, "were you ever going to tell me?"

The older Forbes woman's eyebrows furrowed together in confusion.

"Tell you?"

"Mmh, yeah. Tell me that we live smack in the middle of a freaking supernatural circus?"

The Sheriff's head snapped back towards Kol and Rebekah then—the two Mikaelsons still standing close to the door—lips parted in astonishment and eyes wide. After a moment, her gaze returned to her daughter.

"You know," she stated quietly. "For how long?"

Caroline moved one shoulder up and down, halfheartedly.

"Just a few hours."

"And you still remained here?" her mother's voice raised a few octaves, the woman looking obviously appalled and distressed. "With _them_?" she motioned to the two silent vampires behind them.

"They would never hurt me," the fourteen-year-old retorted decisively, as if the mere possibility of Kol or Rebekah ever wronging her in any way was utterly ridiculous to her. "They're actually the ones who brought me back home safely."

Liz's jaw clenched somewhat, teeth pressed tightly together.

"This house is not your home."

Unable to hold back her resentment any longer, the young blonde scoffed.

"It might as well be."

At that, Liz felt a painful pang of guilt hitting her. And not because of her daughter's words, but because of how true they were... the Mikaelsons had always been more of a family to Caroline than either she or Bill could ever hope to be, and the older woman had nobody to blame for that but herself.

Swallowing thickly, the Sheriff turned around once more. She easily read the faint sympathy displayed on the two Originals' faces and despised it, deciding to try and regain control of the situation as best as she could.

"You still haven't answered my question," she claimed, her posture rigid and her tone harsh. "Why Caroline?"

Kol stiffened imperceptibly, but Rebekah maintained her composure.

"We have come to genuinely care about her, that's all," the blonde vampire answered, not exactly lying even though she was indeed omitting the reason why they had moved to Mystic Falls and taken an interest in Caroline in the first place. "We don't mean anyone any harm, we just wanted to fit in."

"Mom, _please_ ," the fourteen-year-old added pleadingly, fear and worry coloring her pale features as she rested a gentle hand on her mother's uniform-covered shoulder. "Let them stay."

The woman held her daughter's eyes for what felt like an eternity, and then eventually sighed.

"All right."—

—nobody excluded, as far as the others believe.

So life goes on, even though some things inevitably change... and some start.

"I can't believe it took that dude almost three years to make a move," Kol shakes his head, the lilt of his voice obviously amused.

Beside him, Rebekah immediately snorts. "I can't believe he has made one, to begin with," she mumbles in mild annoyance, pinning Tyler Lockwood with a hard glare.

The other Original promptly rolls his eyes at his sister.

"All right, I take that back. I'm pretty sure it took him this long because he's afraid of you."

" _Please_ ," the blonde scoffs. "He doesn't even know that we are vampires."

Kol slightly tilts his head to the side at that.

"He doesn't have to, Bekah. You're like a super scary mother hen, and you've been staring daggers at him ever since he and Caroline first became friends."

The younger Mikaelson half gasps then, feeling slightly offended as she turns around to look at her brother.

"He's a _werewolf_ , Kol! And I don't like that he used his knowledge of the supernatural to get closer to Caroline."

"Right," it's the the brown-eyed vampire's turn to scoff, "as if we don't both know that it was actually our Carebear who decided to get closer to him to garner information."

Pursing her lips in even further annoyance, Rebekah humphs and then haughtily whirls back towards where Caroline and Tyler are talking and laughing in front of the school building in a blur of attitude and blond curls.

"Same thing."

"If you say so," Kol quips, mirth still clearly dancing across his gaze as he looks at his sister out of the corner of his eye; she had always been much more quote-unquote _Team Klaroline_ than him after all, regardless of how utterly ridiculous she insists she finds such nickname.

"We have already been pretty lucky, if you ask me," he adds after a few moments, suddenly sounding somber and serious and catching the other vampire's full attention. "Her relationships with Matt and Stefan barely lasted six months combined... she was bound to find someone who would be as serious about her as she is about him, eventually."

Rebekah sighs somewhat wearily in acknowledgment, still noticing the slight ticking of Kol's jaw as they observe the scene currently unfolding in front of their eyes.

And when Caroline bounces over to them and enthusiastically announces that Tyler has _finally_ asked her out—and not _just out_ but to _prom_ , okay?—both Originals somehow manage to feign surprise and excitement.

It's not that they do not wish her to be happy–

–that is _all_ that they want her to be–

–but they cannot keep their minds from wandering, from immediately thinking of a waiting Klaus alone in New Orleans.

Things become even worse and more awkward when the hybrid asks his siblings to send him a few of the pictures that he knows the other two Mikaelsons have taken of Caroline before she could leave for prom.

Kol and Rebekah do so, worriedly holding their breaths until the latter's phone starts to loudly ring just a few seconds later.

Exhaling deeply and sharing a wary look with her brother, the blonde somewhat reluctantly picks up.

"Ye—"

"That's the Lockwood boy."

Rebekah barely refrains from sighing in exasperation.

"It is," she answers evenly, able to hear the angry grinding of Klaus' teeth even through the line.

"He's a werewolf—"

"—well, _technically_ —"

"—why are you letting her spend time with him, Rebekah? Are you bloody insane?" the older Original roars, clearly furious at his sister.

"She is going to be eighteen in just a few months, Nik; she'll go to college and be on her own—"

"Debatable," the hybrid's derisive snort promptly interrupts her. "Once she is finally away from Mystic Falls and the Council, I'll have no problem sending my people to watch over her."

All too aware of how pointless trying to reason with her brother has always been, the blonde simply shakes her head and sighs.

"What I mean is that she's not a little girl, anymore. If she wants to be friends with Tyler Lockwood, I can't exactly do anything about it."

Of course, Kol just has to chip in then.

"I'd say that they are a little bit more than friends, though."

Rebekah swirls around faster than the other vampire thinks he has ever seen her move before—which is _something_ —eyes momentarily flashing red as they narrow towards him in warning.

However, it's already too late; the damage has been done.

A long and tense pause stretches through the phone-line, a silence charged with obvious unrest on both sides of the call. When he eventually speaks again, Klaus' tone is so scarily over-controlled that it makes Rebekah gulp and almost shudder.

"Save me and Elijah tickets for her graduation," he announces dryly, leaving no room for argument. "We'll be there."

And then the line goes dead.

A few weeks later, when the fateful day finally arrives, Caroline is surprised to notice that Kol and Rebekah seem to be fidgeting even more than she is—and... _hey!_ neurotic control freak over here, thank you very much—constantly looking over their shoulders as if doom is just around the corner.

She can't help but arch a brow up at them, knowing that she only has a couple more minutes to spare before she has to go join the rest of her classmates and wait for the ceremony to begin.

"Hey," she starts, managing to startle them both enough that they turn around towards her with slightly widened eyes. "Are you two all right? You're acting... weird. I mean, you kind of always do," she adds, rambling slightly, "but you're being even weirder today."

Rebekah offers the other blonde an answering smile; it looks genuine, but the seventeen-year-old keeps eyeing her somewhat suspiciously.

"Peachy," the vampire replies, convincing Caroline of the complete opposite once and for all. "We are just excited for you, Carebear."

"Mmh. I'll pretend to believe you. When are your other brothers arriving, by the way?"

"They should be here any minute now," Kol joins the conversation, his words carrying a hint of agitation with them. "But no need for you to worry about them."

Caroline half rolls her eyes, looking almost affronted.

"I'm not _worrying_ ," she stresses, as if the Original's latest statement is nothing but pure ridiculousness. "But they haven't seen me since I was, like, what—four years old? They better not annoy me with five bajillion questions about what I've done since then."

Both Mikaelsons miraculously hold back their snorts then, matching thoughts conjuring up in their minds. They are pretty sure that Klaus knows more about Caroline's life than she remembers herself, but they really cannot tell her that.

"I can fully assure you that won't happen," Kol simply says instead, lips twitching upwards somewhat.

Caroline's concerns are quickly forgotten anyway, as the human is quite literally swept off her feet all of a sudden.

"Oh my God, _Tyler_!" she screeches, giggling loudly while her hands naturally go around the dark-haired boy's neck for better support.

Both teenagers are still smiling as they share a brief but sweet kiss.

Soon after, they leave Kol and Rebekah behind to meet the rest of their friends and then dutifully take their places in the alphabetically-ordered line of students.

The two Originals wait mostly in silence, the blonde's perfectly manicured nails nervously tapping against the plastic armrest of her reserved chair over and over again, nearly driving her brother insane.

"Bekah, I swear to—"

"Little Brother. Little Sister."

Rebekah is out of her seat and launching herself into Klaus' arms in the blink of an eye, definitely catching the latter by surprise for a second. Once he recovers–

–he has been away from the only two girls of his life—of his _existence_ —for far too long, and is even more of a stranger to affection now than he was before–

–his sister has however already moved on and is hugging Elijah.

"I have missed you both so much," she sighs, her blue eyes wistful and tender as they shift from one older brother to the other, taking in the two's subtle changes over the years.

Elijah nods, his own way to say that he has missed her as well, and then motions towards the two empty chairs on Kol's right side.

"Shall we sit?"

They do so just in time to see the high school's principal finally make his way up the platform set up right in the middle of the football field for the ceremony, everybody around them clapping their hands for a few moments as the whole place buzzes with chattering and excitement.

As far as he's concerned, Klaus has never considered himself an antsy individual. He's the most powerful being on Earth and the King of the whole supernatural community after all, and he does not get anxious or restless, never has even while being chased down by his very own parents for centuries on end.

But, of course, he had never foreseen _her_.

Waiting to see Caroline again for the first time in almost fourteen years, and to see her not just in a faded picture, on a computer screen or in his dreams and memories, has him unable to breathe–

–and he does not even need to, but for her he _wants_ to; if she is human—frail, alive and breathing—then so is he.

Is she still as blonde? Still as fair-skinned? Are her eyes still as bottomless as they used to be when she was but a little girl? He craves so much more than just his siblings' second-hand stories and comments about her, so much more than those concepts without real nuances that keep swirling around in his head. He craves _everything_.

His gaze sweeps across the sea of students eagerly awaiting to be awarded their much coveted high school diploma, his orbs frantic in their search of a particular blonde head. He can almost feel himself sweating underneath his black, tailored suit, loathing but at the same time loving the effect that Caroline unconsciously has on him just by being in his remote vicinity. He has had way too many years to get used to that unquenchable longing–

–putting all of himself—but he was never _whole_ —into his kingdom and hybrid army, trying to do anything else other than missing her–

–but he doubts that it will ever really disappear; he doesn't want it to.

All Seniors file through one after the other, passing fleetingly before his eyes as they walk up the stage and accept their new degree, all happily flipping the tassel of their graduation cap from one side to the other once they are done.

The ritual is never-ending, tedious human after tedious human going through the very same motions, and Klaus' hands are clenched into fists so hard, his knuckles white and strained, that they almost hurt. But he easily ignores that pain, instead concentrating on the ache throbbing incessantly underneath his ribcage.

When Caroline's name is at last called—"Forbes, Caroline Margaret. Head cheerleader, head of the event planning and fundraising committees, and writer for the student newspaper."—time seems to stop.

She skips up the four, small steps until she is face to face with the principal, a satisfied smile stretched wide on her face. Flaring in her burgundy red gown and golden curls neatly tamed by the matching hat on top of her head, she brightly thanks the old-ish man, waving her newly obtained diploma around in the air for a few moments; her peers cheer and Kol and Rebekah look on proudly, but the hybrid beside them is too awestruck to do the same.

Intently following his mate's every move, Klaus really is rendered breathless this time. Because none of the pictures or brief videos that his two siblings have been sending him over the years could have ever prepared him for the genuine beauty and utter light that Caroline effortlessly radiates from her every pore, brightening up everything around her like a Goddess–

–his _Queen_ –

–with a healing touch.

Under the warm rays of the late May sun, she's a vision.

And it's later, when the ceremony is finally over and she comes running towards them with her hand clasped in some other boy's, that something inevitably and suddenly shifts inside of him.

He had felt the first inklings of it as the many years passed, his need to cherish her and keep her safe slowly evolving, morphing into something much deeper and more complicated to accept or explain. He had known of her middle school boyfriend Matt and then of Stefan in sophomore year, and he had felt extremely protective and somewhat anxious at the prospect of either of them using her, mistreating her, hurting her... but now, watching her exchange sweet nothings with Tyler Lockwood as the two teenagers stand just a few feet away from him, there is a new kind of emotion surging powerfully through his veins.

No more protectiveness, but _possessiveness_.

The fact that the boy is of werewolf lineage only adds to the hybrid's anger; Caroline is _his_ mate, and no other wolf should ever be allowed to touch her that way, to kiss her, to have her. Not that he only considers her something to own—she is the one who owns _him_ , if he has to be completely honest with himself—but it's naturally hardwired into his entire being: the certainty that they belong to each other and no-one else, the knowledge that she was born to be truly loved by him and him alone.

His jaw clenches at such thoughts, threatening shades of yellow appearing among the ocean blue of his eyes.

"We are so proud of you," Rebekah gushes as she envelops the other blonde in a tight hug, Kol doing the same just a couple of moments later.

Caroline beams up at the two of them once they part, the apples of her cheeks coloring a pale pink as she faintly blushes under the compliments and attention. In the meantime, Klaus cannot help but greedily drink in her every action and reaction, his gaze selfish as it digs into her soft, pale features, committing every single detail to memory.

"Thanks," the recent graduate eventually half mumbles, eyes curiously moving towards the other two Originals in front of her. She clears her throat. "You must be Kol and Bekah's older siblings?"

Klaus doesn't attempt to reply, doesn't even move one inch; his stare is still insistent and demanding on the human's now slightly hesitant and perplexed face, the red on her fair skin deepening along her cheekbones as the hybrid's orbs almost seem to scald through her.

Something feels odd somehow, out of the ordinary, although not in a bad or uncomfortable way. Caroline cannot quite understand it, and so she chalks it up to a slight kind of panic; she knows that all the Mikaelsons are vampires—deadly creatures, no big deal—but doesn't actually _know_ the older two of them after all, and anyone would feel on edge in her shoes.

"Elijah," the eldest Original's ever composed and polite tone breaks through her haze as he offers her his right hand.

She takes it, shaking it with a small smile.

"Caroline. Pleased to meet you at an age when I don't spew baby food all over people anymore. Well, not on purpose at least."

Elijah chuckles, the sound genuine. "It's quite all right. I believe I have had enough time to forgive you the irreparable staining of my favorite suit jacket by now."

From the side, Kol good-naturedly rolls his eyes, but then everyone suddenly seems to freeze when Caroline turns her attention towards the only remaining Mikaelson as if in slow motion.

"Klaus, right?" she tries.

The blonde and her boyfriend are oblivious to it, but the other three vampires easily catch the flash of hurt momentarily flitting across their brother's eyes at hearing his mate call him something other than 'Nik'—

—"Come on, Sweetheart," Klaus urged on a thirteen months old Caroline. "You can say it."

Nothing.

Maybe, if he used the dimples...

"Please? For me?" the hybrid's tone started to edge on desperate, but the tiny blonde in front of him simply blinked up at him, not understanding what he was asking of her or simply not caring.

"Are you still trying to get her to say your name, Nik?" Kol suddenly appeared into the room, an overly amused smirk stretching on his lips at the sight of his brother huffing dejectedly.

"I believe it is none of your business."

"Uuuh, someone's touchy. Guess I'll take that as a yes, then."

Caroline started to fuss before the older Original could form a reply, clearly displeased with the fact that part of the latter's attention had been diverted away from her. The other vampire wisely took that as his cue to once again leave the two alone.

"Ssh, it's all right," Klaus carefully scooped her up in his arms and held her close, running a soothing hand up and down her back as he felt her snuggling more comfortably against him. "I still know that you love me," he sighed quietly after a little while, softly rocking her, "even if you refuse to say my name."

At that, the baby seemed to perk up somewhat, her tiny head craning to the side as her lively, blue eyes studied the hybrid.

"Loh?" she asked, her barely-there eyebrows slightly furrowed together in confusion.

Klaus affectionately smiled down at her, his tender gaze shining with unadulterated adoration.

"Love, yes."

There was a small pause then, Caroline's thin lips pursing for a moment before a mostly toothless but beaming smile widened on her face, her next word making his undead heart beat out of his chest.

"'ick."—

—as she used to.

When he doesn't immediately accept her protruded hand, she awkwardly lets it fall back to her side and then quickly shakes her head to herself.

"Sorry. I just thought—Aiden used to talk about you, sometimes."

Klaus swallows thickly, finally finding his voice again as he curtly nods.

"Of course," his smile is evidently forced, his tone quiet and almost tentative, "but... Nik will work just as fine, if you'd like."

The young human bites down on her bottom lip, contemplating the suggestion as it hangs around them for a long pause.

"Nik," she eventually slowly repeats, testing the way in which the name rolls surprisingly effortlessly along her tongue.

Once again, the feeling suddenly vibrating through Caroline's whole body is somewhat foreign and undecipherable, but still it tugs at some remote strings of her memory, making her feel more alive than she has ever had before in her life.

It's like a revelation that goes beyond what she can currently comprehend, like a puzzle piece that finally falls into place.

 _Nik_.


	9. 2011

**"He feels it as soon as she is born, that tug at his heartstrings that says his mate has finally come into the world. It's beautiful and terrifying all at once, but most importantly what he has been unknowingly waiting for all along."**

* * *

It's over a year later and the Christmas holidays, when Klaus and Caroline properly meet again.

She's in her second year of college as a Drama major and still dating Tyler; he's still living in New Orleans and tirelessly working on further extending his power and kingdom. And it's not like they haven't seen each other a few times since her high school graduation, but those were nothing more than fleeting encounters made of brief catching up and somewhat awkward conversation. Because, if there is anything that Klaus could never bring himself to do–

–and isn't that _funny_ , when he has never had any qualms whatsoever over any of his despicable actions before?–

–that is to pressure Caroline's decisions in any way.

Even if he can barely stand the sight—the mere _thought_ —of her with the Lockwood boy or with anybody else who isn't him, his mate's happiness is the only thing that truly matters and he is willing to wait for her. One day–

– _forever_ –

–she will choose him, on her own.

So, for the most part, the Original still maintains his distance. He has several of his hybrids monitoring her every move at Whitmore after all, and Kol and Rebekah are more than happy to remain in Mystic Falls and keep an eye on her whenever she returns from college. He only occasionally visits during the summer and a few other holidays, allowing her to get used to his presence back in her life.

And he can tell that, however slowly, it is working.

From time to time, he'd notice her looking at him differently, with her eyebrows furrowed and her eyes more intent and determined than usual, as if trying to solve the mystery that he represents... deep down, she remembers him; she _wants_ to remember him. It's only a matter of how much longer she will be able to keep her old feelings and memories bottled up inside of her now, treating them like something that has never existed.

"Merry Christmas, Sweetheart."

Swirling around as she keeps a firm hold onto the ladder's side handles, Caroline softly gasps in surprise.

"Kla— _Nik_ ," the blonde corrects herself with a shake of her head, smiling as she carefully reaches down on the ground with her feet.

Klaus immediately reciprocates the action with an amused grin of his own, eyes scorching along her figure and features as he takes her in. He feels a pang of affection hitting him as he studies the intricate pattern of her red reindeer sweater, a blush quickly appearing on the nineteen-year-old's cheeks once she realizes what caught his attention.

"You came," she points out lamely, clearing her throat and fighting down her nerves as she walks closer to him.

There is just something about the man–

–but he is _not_ a man–

–currently standing in front of her that always seems to shake Caroline to her very core and keep her on edge, although she's never quite been able to place what and not for lack of trying.

For some reason, his mere presence both soothes her and electrifies her at the same time, like being near him suddenly changes the very foundations of her whole life and being... but she has never exactly been shy around boys—although the hybrid is most definitely more than just a boy; not that she has paid him any more mind than strictly necessary, _of course_ —not even the supernatural kind at this point, and so it confuses her.

Then again, she has never felt the strange pull that she feels towards Klaus with anybody else before, either.

 _Ugh_.

Whatever. None of it really matters, anyway—she's spoken for, she's happy and in love already.

"I did," he replies after a few moments of comfortable silent, a silly smile in place and bracketed by the ghost of his dimples.

It still gets her sometimes, the dichotomy of how young and carefree he has the power to look even when she knows that he is the complete opposite of anything innocent or naïve, that he's the proverbial wolf in sheep's clothing.

Because she has asked around and heard the stories, begged Kol and Rebekah to fill her in on their family and its history as much as possible. At first, the two Mikaelsons had been reluctant to cave to her demands, worried that it would all become too much and too real for her if she knew the tales of all the horrible things that they had done; but she was family and she deserved the truth, she deserved their honesty.

So Caroline knows, and Klaus most likely knows that she does. That she's aware of the fact that he isn't a normal vampire or werewolf but a unique combination of the two, that every remotely smart supernatural being on Earth is afraid of the mere whisper of his name around them, that he has killed countless of people throughout the centuries and revels in it.

And yet, she is not scared. She can't deny that she feels extremely anxious whenever she finds herself around him, especially if alone, but–

–and she _hates_ herself for it–

–never out of fear.

"Well," she finally quips, head slightly cocked to the side and grin widening across her deep pink lips. "You'd better have brought presents, then."

Smirk stretching purposefully over his shaved face and with the intense blue of his gaze gleaming with pure mischief, Klaus takes a measured step closer.

"I'm offended, Sweetheart," he retorts slowly while bringing a hand up to his chest, the action prompting the blonde to roll her eyes. "Is my presence not enough?"

Caroline cannot help but shyly bite down on her bottom lip as she actually contemplates his question.

It's rather obvious that he is flirting with her, and she doesn't know what to do or how to respond. No matter the fact that she doesn't think she has ever really witnessed Klaus being anything less than ridiculously charming, he has never been so open about it with her before; they are always nothing less than perfectly pleasant towards each other, but they tend to skirt around the lingering tension that clearly exists between them and prefer to act as acquaintances instead.

Not anymore, apparently.

 _Certified psychopathic mass-murderer_ , part of her brain however quickly reminds her.

 _Tyyyleeer_ , the other half pipes in right after.

So the teenager huffs to herself, briefly closing her eyes in frustration.

When she reopens them, Klaus is staring at her curiously but fervently and a soft, awed gasp leaves past her lips before she can even realize it and try to hold it back. She has never once been on the receiving end of such ardent longing before, and she just _knows_ — _feels_ —that there still is something that she must be missing somehow.

"Uh—"

" _Nik_!" Kol's voice suddenly booms through the spacious and already half Christmassy-decorated living room, effectively interrupting the two's moment and breaking whatever spell Caroline had been under.

She gives a small shake of her head and takes a deep breath, regathering herself while Klaus' teeth grind together in evident annoyance towards his brother's appearance. As always, the latter feigns innocence.

"Didn't you tell Rebekah that you were incredibly busy this year? I wonder what made you change your mind about joining us, in the end," the brown-haired vampire comments knowingly, grinning and not even attempting subtlety as he quite pointedly winks at Caroline.

The hybrid's jaw immediately clenches. "Not the prospect of your company, that is for sure."

"Ouch, Nik. That was harsh, even for you," Kol pouts dramatically, before allowing a pitiful shrug and then sighing. "But I can recognize when I'm not wanted. I was just wondering if dear Caroline, here, knows when Lockwood is coming over for dinner?" he adds, casting a shrewd look towards the other Original in the room.

At the mention of the blonde's boyfriend, Klaus' features darken dangerously and a growl rumbles low at the base of his throat, making Caroline's eyes widen. The animosity coming off of the older Mikaelson in hot waves is practically palpable around them, and she can't ignore the fact that it seemingly originated from Kol bringing up Tyler's role in her life.

Harmless flirting? That she can deal with and perhaps even enjoy. But unjustified jealousy? Oh, hell _no_!

His damn British accent and very cute dimples give Klaus some sort of unfair upper hand over her clearly diseased nineteen-year-old's brain, but what other than that? While the bond that she perceives effortlessly flowing between them is powerful and feels strangely familiar, he doesn't... because all that she really knows about him are other people's horror stories, and she's in for the fairytale in this life.

Moreover, he has been alive for literal centuries and has met thousands of different people—what could he ever find so special about _her_? She's the poster child for ordinary girls.

The thought that everything might just be in her mind or terribly one-sided suddenly saddens her.

"Sometime next week," Caroline still manages to answer, plastering an uneasy smile across her face. "I should probably go get more decorations, now."

She disappears before either Klaus or Kol can stop her.

And that's how the rest of the week is spent, tiptoeing around the human blonde and the underlying tension that she is carrying with her everywhere and that seems ready to snap at any given moment. The fact that she only slightly calms down in Tyler's presence makes things even worse, angering Klaus to a new high; after all, knowing that his mate is with someone else and actually witnessing it are two completely different things, and, without his usual killing sprees as outlets—Rebekah insists that Mystic Falls is off-limits—the hybrid is starting to amass an unhealthy dose of rage just underneath an easily breakable surface.

"Maybe coming back was a bad idea," he dishearteningly voices his fears to his siblings, a few days before Christmas.

"No, Nik, you _had_ to come back," Rebekah immediately counters, tone firm but pleading as her eyes soften and her undead heart aches for her brother's pain. "She might not feel it or fully comprehend it yet, but the connection that you two share goes both ways. You just have the advantage of knowing that it's there and what it means, give her the chance to catch up."

Sitting beside his sister on the couch, Kol nods.

"And it's been fifteen years," he adds, sounding stern and almost accusing, "did you really expect her to fall right into your arms just because you finally returned?"

Klaus stiffens, his whole demeanor hardening as he abruptly halts his troubled pacing around the room.

There's a long and tense pause before he answers.

"You know very well why I had to leave," he snarls through gritted teeth, hands clenching at his sides as he keeps his gaze averted.

"Yes, but it doesn't change the fact that you did and that Caroline has made a life for herself in the meantime. You knew this would be hard, you knew there was a risk that she'd forget about you."

" _I hoped you wouldn't let it happen_!" the hybrid roars, whirling around and setting a pair of furiously yellow eyes on his younger brother. His canines are bared for the attack and he's panting, his suffering clearly painted all over his face and angry stance.

In this very moment, he _is_ just a man... _broken_.

Rebekah quickly looks away with guilt and remorse souring the lines of her profile but Kol is unperturbed, setting his jaw and speaking again.

"We had to choose between her happiness and yours, and I will never regret the decision we made."

The two Mikaelsons intently stare at each other for what feels like an eternity, Kol already prepared for the other Original to pounce on him when, instead, the latter eventually sighs.

"You're right," Klaus swallows thickly, the admission obviously difficult for him to utter as he ducks his head.

There's a pause, Rebekah's features composing a surprised frown and Kol's lips parting wordlessly a few times. Shocked, the two younger siblings turn to each other and share an almost comically confused look.

"Did he–did he just say I'm right?"

"I... think so."

"But, how?"

The female vampire shrugs helplessly. "Possible brain damage?"

Despite everything, an amused smile slowly makes its way up the edges of Klaus' mouth at his brother and sister's peculiar musings.

"Are you two finished?" he questions after a few moments, regaining their attention as mirth and a hint of slyness dance freely at the corners of his eyes. If before the hybrid looked terribly hopeless, now his expression has visibly shifted and he looks more than ready to battle. "I have a certain blonde to woo."

So he goes all in.

Kol and Rebekah do have a point, after all: the main reason why Caroline is still so hesitant around him and refuses to truly acknowledge what he can see that she is starting to feel towards him, is that she's confused; she has no way of understanding the emotions that are arising and building so suddenly and yet strongly inside of her, so she keeps their source at arm's length and resorts to indifference. But all she needs is a little nudge in the right direction, and he has the perfect idea to help with that.

When Christmas Eve finally turns into Christmas Day and the five of them—Elijah has joined them too, for the festivities—are all sitting in front of the crackling fireplace, looking up at the tall, dark green fir tree that Caroline has taken weeks to properly decorate, Klaus is feeling a kind of anxious anticipation that is new and foreign and threatens to make him go mad.

"Time to open the presents!" the nineteen-year-old happily claps her hands together as soon as the clock strikes one second past midnight, her smile beaming as she sits down on the wood flooring of the living room, jean-clad legs folded underneath her. "Who's going first?"

Her eyes are big and excited, shining brighter than any of the many Christmas lights hanging around the house ever could, and Klaus is utterly enraptured by her, unable to tear his gaze away.

However, Kol promptly half snorts.

"As if any of us has the courage to go before you, Carebear," the younger brown-eyed Original notes sarcastically, tone light and his grin full of affection. The blonde has always spent the holidays with them—her mother constantly busy with one thing or the other—and it _is_ tradition.

"Shut up," Caroline rolls her eyes, although she does not waste any more time starting to search for the presents meant for her among the several ones carefully aligned at the foot of the tree.

Rebekah has bought her far more clothes and make-up accessories than anyone should ever be allowed to own, plus a few IKEA ornaments for her dorm room that the human had been apparently eyeing for a while but couldn't afford herself. Elijah's gift—a rare first edition of Caroline's favorite book, _Gone with the Wind_ —earns the eldest Mikaelson a loud screech and a long, unexpected hug, which he returns gladly after a few seconds of uncertainty.

When the young blonde finally picks one of Kol's presents up in her hands, the vampire starts snickering.

"Should I be worried?" she asks, throwing him a suspicious look as she slowly pulls at the wrapping paper, not wanting to completely tear through it–

–she still keeps the scraps of all of her gifts stored away in her bedroom, holding tightly onto what is left of her innocence–

–even in her haste and enthusiasm.

A giggle escapes her once the object is finally out in the open.

"Oh my God, _what_ is this?"

"A stuffed animal," Kol replies, obviously proud with himself.

"I know, but... a plush wolf cub with customized vampire teeth?" more laughter bubbles up her throat as she shakes her head. "You're the worst, Kol."

"I believe you have just mispronounced 'the best', darling."

Caroline ignores him, brows suddenly furrowing and nose scrunching up as she notices what is written on the animal's plastic tag.

"Mate?" the word is spoken quietly, confusion laced in the human's voice, and the other three Originals around her suddenly freeze. "I mean, seriously? That's how you named the poor thing—Mate?"

Klaus, Elijah and Rebekah all simultaneously relax, the first warningly but uselessly narrowing his eyes towards their fourth sibling. Luckily, Caroline quickly moves on to her remaining presents from Kol, opening a series of baking—her latest hobby—utensils.

At last, she is holding Klaus' gift.

The two stare at each other for some moments and then share a tentative smile before the blonde finally unwraps the dark blue paper with trembling fingers, gasping softly when its content is revealed.

It's her.

A pencil drawing of her from the day of her graduation, depicting the very moment when she finally obtained her diploma, a grin stretched wide on her lips and her orbs lively and excited as she gazes at the world with a newfound energy. She looks... well, beautiful, she can't deny that; radiant, more appropriately, with rays of light surrounding her almost as if originating directly from her body and soul.

Is that really how Klaus sees her? Her hearts start to thrum frantically beneath her ribcage, making her dizzy.

But she doesn't have enough time to ponder that, because something else suddenly snaps inside of her, the familiarity of that soft and elegant touch as it traces the paper triggering a domino effect among her memories.

Her head shoots back up in an instant, eyes wide and lips parted. And then—

"I know who you are."


	10. 2012

**"He feels it as soon as she is born, that tug at his heartstrings that says his mate has finally come into the world. It's beautiful and terrifying all at once, but most importantly what he has been unknowingly waiting for all along."**

* * *

She refuses to talk to him for fifteen weeks—one for every year that he has stayed away; and, yes, maybe she has a bit of a flair for the dramatic, but she did grow up with Kol and Rebekah after all—even if Caroline is pretty sure that Klaus would deserve a whole eternity of religious silent treatment for having ruined her Christmas holidays. Like, seriously, who even does that? The Grinch, that's who. And he's evil; sort of. Not that Klaus isn't–

–she knows that he is a _killer_ , for God's sake–

–but, suddenly, all that she thought she knew about him is jarring with conflicting past memories filled with affection and happiness in her mind, and what is she even supposed to believe anymore? She wants to hate him or to resent him at least, but, for some reason, it's as if she is physically unable to.

And part of her doesn't even really understand _why_ she is holding a grudge, in the first place. Well, if she doesn't count the fact that he quite literally gave her abandonment issues when she was only four years old, that is... oh, and that he pretty much made his siblings lie to her _for years_ —she remembers already having encountered the supernatural now and she does not at all care if his werewolf alter-ego used to be extremely cute and cuddly, _all right_?

There's just too much to suddenly process all at once, and holidays are meant to be relaxing not even more stressful than college itself. Again, _seriously_.

So December becomes January, and then winter becomes spring. It's summer before they know it.

"I can't believe you would do this to me!"

" _Carebear_ —"

"No!" Caroline waves a threatening index finger at Kol, blond curls a fury as she whirls around with narrowed eyes. "Don't you _dare_ 'Carebear' me, I won't cave this time."

Shoulders slumping, the Original heaves a long sigh through his nostrils.

"He's our brother. Please, understand," he tries.

But the nineteen-year-old promptly scoffs, folding her arms across her chest as she haughtily rebuts the vampire's attempt to make her see reason.

"Yeah, a brother who had no problem pretending that none of us even existed for almost two decades."

Kol's jaw clenches briefly at that, almost in anger. "That's not what happened."

"Then _what_ happened?" she asks, pleading, exasperation seeping into her tone. She takes a step forward, arms now open wide at her sides. "Because I am not stupid; I can see that there seems to be more to the story, but nobody will tell me. What's going on?"

A flash of something undecipherable flits through the Original's brown orbs, a torn expression taking over his features as he appears to be at war within himself. For a moment, Caroline dares to believe that she might finally be getting somewhere.

"I'm sorry," Kol however shakes his head, at last; he looks genuinely regretful, but unfortunately that doesn't count for much. "It's not my place to tell you."

Lips pressed tightly together, the blonde nods once, curt and clearly hurt.

"Right," she bristles, eyes quickly hardening. "Then it's not your place to decide whether or not Klaus can hijack my life, either. It was supposed to be just _me and Tyler_ through Italy, but now we have to spend two entire weeks with your brother? I'd rather not go at all."

That last comment makes the vampire in front of her frown deeply.

"Don't be ridiculous, darling. You deserved this holiday, it's mine and Rebekah's gift for passing all of your exams."

Letting her features somewhat soften—she knows that it's not actually the two younger Mikaelsons' fault, the pair having been practically begging her to let them offer her a vacation somewhere for years now—Caroline sighs.

"I know, but I really don't feel like being around Klaus yet." And, _okay_ , maybe that's kind of a lie.

"Nik won't bother you, I promise."

The teenager grimaces, unconvinced. "But why does he even have to be there?"

"Well, technically, the villa at the Cinque Terre is his," Kol explains, barely fighting down the beginning of an amused smile at the human's adorable antics.

She huffs, pacing the length of the Mikaelsons' living room.

"He could visit some other time?"

"No can do. July is his least busy time of the year—"

Arching a knowing eyebrow and once again crossing her arms over her chest, the blonde snorts before the vampire has a chance to properly finish his sentence.

"Yeah, I'm sure it must be terribly exhausting to rule a supernatural kingdom," she mocks, half rolling her eyes.

A third voice unexpectedly pipes up then.

"Actually, Sweetheart, it is."

Gasping–

–and it feels like such a flashback to those damned Christmas holidays, that she is already more than half annoyed–

–Caroline swirls around.

" _Klaus_ ," she acknowledges through gritted teeth, obvious distaste dripping from her tone; she gives herself a proud pat on the shoulder for managing to hold back the awed breath that was threatening to escape past her lips at the unexpected sight of him. See? Being a Drama major did have its perks.

But the hybrid doesn't appear at all fazed by her surly attitude, mirth dancing at the corners of his eyes.

"Ah," he smirks, hands tucked together behind his back as he moves closer. "Forgoing the 'Nik', I see."

"Since you're actually a jerk," she cocks her head to the side, smile spuriously sweet, "yes."

However, to Caroline's utmost annoyance, her catty remark only serves to amuse him even further. Klaus doesn't doubt his mate's awareness of the fact that he has killed people for a lot less gall, and he loves how she is never afraid of him; it's something that he can work with, at least for now.

"And, pray tell, why would I be a... jerk?" he questions her, lips slightly twitching upwards as he tries her same choice of vocabulary. "Merely because I'd like to enjoy some time in one of my homes in Italy? That seems a tad unfair, Sweetheart."

Scoffing, she looks at him in frustration and mild disbelief; Kol's gaze is jumping between them in the meantime, the younger vampire obviously entertained even if his existence has been by now completely forgotten by the couple.

"What's unfair is that you're a _stalker_ ," the blonde eventually snaps. "Vacationing there the same few weeks that I do with Tyler? I'm sure that's a total coincidence."

Although he immediately paints offense and innocence all over his features, the Original's eyes glint calculatingly for a fleeting instant.

"Of course it is. And it plays in your favor, truth be told," he adds, not even attempting to hide his smugness this time. "I make a mean tour guide."

Exactly one month later, Caroline somewhat begrudgingly finds out that he had been honest about that; not that she would ever admit it out loud to him, of course. His bajillion years of experience on this planet must count for something after all, and she certainly doesn't plan on giving him the satisfaction to admit that he's right about something any time soon.

Somehow, he also stays true to his word—she made him promise several times and threatened Kol with bodily harm if his brother ever went out of line, even if she isn't sure how effective that last part had actually been—and never imposes on her and Tyler, although she can tell that he is keeping a severe eye on her boyfriend; sort of like a bodyguard, although the thought makes her giggle. They end up seeking him out more often than not, anyway. Tyler is too in over his head to realize that Klaus is indeed not a 'bro' and actually pretty much despises him, and Caroline... well, she doesn't really mind his presence— _sue her_.

It probably helps that the Italian Riviera is even more gorgeous than she could have ever imagined, the sky perfectly blue and clear and the sea calm and infinite before her awed, wandering eyes. She takes picture after picture of every single inch of every single place that they manage to visit, unwilling to allow anything to escape her, worried that her memory might not be enough to capture the endless, natural beauty so effortlessly parading itself around her.

It's her very first time outside of the state of Virginia, and she wants to remember _everything_.

"Uh," the nineteen-year-old's whole face scrunches up cutely in deep concentration, as she eagerly thumbs through the thin pages of her Uffizi Gallery's brochure, "that's—"

"The Birth of Venus, by Botticelli."

Promptly, Caroline side-eyes Klaus; partly for the interruption but mostly for being a smart-ass.

"I was about to say it," she bites back, annoyed.

"I am sure you were, Sweetheart."

And _ugh_ , she hates the way he is looking at her with affection rather than condescendingly when she turns around with every intention to glare at him. It's like he's the only one who truly takes her seriously, who genuinely shares in her enthusiasm to learn and explore, who doesn't look at her unceasing excitement about life as something silly or childish, and she can't quite decide how she feels about all that yet.

She has been trying to ignore him, to ignore the strange emotions that he has the ability to evoke inside of her by merely setting his bottomless gaze upon her... but, at the end of the day, she's only human—literally, in this case.

Then, on the other side, there's Tyler. He comes from a well-off family and he's been used to leaving Mystic Falls behind every summer of his life, and it's almost too easy for him to be able to take all that they are getting to see and experience for granted, to shake his head with a small smile at her innate giddiness. To him, their current holiday mostly means no work and no responsibilities; but, to her, it means a completely different kind of _freedom_.

Caroline does the best she can to squish the tiny part of her that believes she might be outgrowing her own boyfriend.

She clears her throat and forces herself back to the present, although she still notices a subtle hint of worry coloring Klaus' features.

"Well," she eventually quips, "you probably already were, like, super ancient when this was painted," she points to the large masterpiece in front of them, eyes trapped by its classical beauty, "so I would have been worried about you, if you hadn't immediately recognized it."

His grin stretches across his lips, dimples showing. "Why, Sweetheart, do you worry about me a lot?"

Immediately, her lips part and her eyes widen.

"I'm hungry," Tyler complains before his girlfriend can answer the hybrid, totally oblivious to the major flirting that was going on right beside him.

The blonde blushes slightly, feeling guilty and nodding her head almost mechanically.

"I guess we can take a lunch break, come back later," she says, pointedly avoiding Klaus' gaze and resting a warm hand on Tyler's arm.

The boy smiles, looking rather tired after a whole morning of visiting all of the most famous museums in Florence. More guilt hits her as she realizes just how good he's been to her so far, dutifully following wherever she wanted to go even if those places didn't interest him in the slightest most of the times. Cue to the millionth _ugh_.

She's a terrible person, isn't she?

"That sounds perfect, baby," he agrees amiably, prompting her to smile back at him.

Caroline is on her tiptoes and lightly kissing him before she can even realize what she is doing, or maybe exactly because she does. She has kept her and Tyler's public displays of affection to a minimum for one and a half week already, something inexplicable sitting wrong with her at the thought of openly being with someone else right in front of Klaus, but now she is done constantly feeling on edge when the Original doesn't even have the decency to tell her what's really going on between her and him. Because there _is_ something–

–something supernatural perhaps, and the thought scares her–

–there has to be.

She steps back and unwillingly catches a flash of hurt shadowing the hybrid's face out of the corner of her right eye, his irises darker than usual and almost troubled with agony as they navigate the hollow white around them.

She pretends she doesn't care.

He pretends he is not really affected.

But both are lies, the latter especially.

Werewolves are inherently territorial and possessive creatures, even more so when it comes to their mate, and it makes the borrowed blood coursing through Klaus' veins boil with a fury unlike any other he has ever felt before–

–and he knows a lot about fury, so much more than he does about any other emotion–

–to have to powerlessly stand there, unable to do anything as someone else gets to touch and kiss her, to treat her as if she ever were anybody else's but only, utterly _his_.

His hands clench into fists, knuckles white, the vise tight and painful. He had never suspected anything could be worse than the physical ache heavy in his bones when he was still just a kid and at Mikael's mercy, or than the sting of betrayal that his siblings have caused him many a time throughout the centuries; but the heart, in its purest of forms... no other organ or muscle has the misfortune to suffer more.

When even the second week of Caroline's stay at the villa comes to an end, Klaus feels an odd sense of relief.

He already knows that he will miss her terribly—no matter the circumstances, her very presence is blinding _light_ around him—but that's something that he has become somewhat accustomed to, albeit forcedly, through the years. Witnessing her happiness in the arms of another? He doesn't think he could ever get used to that; he doesn't want to.

So, when it's eventually time to say goodbye, the blonde finds him melancholic and alone in his master bedroom.

"Hey," she hesitates, hovering close to the door with her fingers drumming anxiously against its wooden frame. "We're–uhm, we're about to leave."

Klaus gives a curt nod. He has his back turned to her, but she can still see that he's holding a slender, rectangular box between his hands almost reverently.

The awkward silence is killing her, and so she cannot help but ask.

"What's that?"

His shoulders suddenly tense, his whole body stiffening even as he finally turns around to look at her.

"A gift, actually. For you."

Caroline's blue eyes widen in surprise. "For me? W–why?"

The Original shrugs silently, the two of them moving almost in sync as they meet each other halfway right in the middle of the spacious, darkened room.

"This vacation is a present of my siblings', is it not?" he waits for her to nod, before continuing. "I merely thought I should give you a little something, as well."

Somewhat overwhelmed, the blonde swallows thickly.

"You didn't have to."

"Nonsense, Sweetheart. I wanted to."

With trembling hands, she accepts the box that he's offering her, letting her gaze meet his for a brief but powerful instant. Her fingers carefully pull at the golden, satin bow sitting on top of the elegant object, the lid lifting slowly.

She gasps.

"Nik—" she utters the familiar nickname in a breath, without even realizing it. Her awed eyes find his once again. "This is too much, I couldn't possibly—"

"You couldn't possibly refuse it," he states with a bashful, almost nervous smile. "It's already yours, after all. Allow me?" he motions towards the diamond infinity bracelet still laid out inside the jewelry box, its silver glittering beautifully against the black velvet lining that is enclosing it.

As if in a daze, all Caroline can do in response is nod.

She only realizes that she's holding her breath when Klaus gently clicks his present shut around her thin wrist a moment later, heart thrumming wildly all the way into her ears. But her features cloud over all too quickly, when she remembers what happened the last time that someone had tried to buy her affections with such an expensive bracelet: she was left to cope with only one parent.

Pulling her hand away from his like he was burning her, she suddenly becomes aggravated, brows furrowing together in a mixture of sadness and confusion.

"Why did you leave me?" she whispers, clearly taking the hybrid in front of her aback.

He inhales sharply, eyes snapping up to hers and opening wide at her question. It's a topic that they have never broached together before—him moving to New Orleans, abandoning her with Kol and Rebekah—like a sword swinging precariously above their heads, naively ignored and yet terribly dangerous.

They both let a tense silence stretch on for several minutes, minutes that feel like hours... days, years.

"It's not that easy, Caroline," Klaus finally manages to answer after what is possibly forever, jaw set and clenched tightly as he swiftly turns around and away from her, needing a way to conceal his own hurt.

But the blonde doesn't waver, scoffing instead.

"That's what everyone keeps telling me. I deserve to know the truth!"

The Original gulps, forces the next words out of his mouth. "There is nothing to know."

Barely holding back the frustrated tears that are now threatening to start falling down her flushed cheeks, Caroline angrily presses her teeth together and takes a moment to try and collect herself.

At last, she sighs, feeling tired and defeated.

"Then why do you act as if I owe you something, now that you're back?" she asks, voice still shaking. "What is it that you want from me?"

Again, there's silence.

She is going to leave in a matter of moments and he has no idea when he will get to see her again; he is dying to give in and just tell her–

– _everything_ –

–"Nothing."

The single word is still echoing around him, when the blonde mutely exits the room without ever looking back.


	11. 2013

**"He feels it as soon as she is born, that tug at his heartstrings that says his mate has finally come into the world. It's beautiful and terrifying all at once, but most importantly what he has been unknowingly waiting for all along."**

* * *

Caroline dumps Tyler and picks up reading about werewolves in her spare time. Okay, maybe not only in her spare time... a lot of the time, actually; but something inside of her tells her that it's something that she needs to do, fragments of memories flashing before her eyes and pushing for her to _know_. To unravel the mystery in her mind and put together the hints that she already has, more accurately.

And it's totally involuntary that, in the process, she finds out her best friend is a witch. Like, a _witch_ witch.

"Hey, Bonnie?" Caroline calls, lying stomach-down on her dorm room's bed, legs bent at the knees and feet propped up so they swing casually behind her.

The other girl hums her acknowledgment from her cross-legged position on her own bed, busy filing through some of her latest History class notes with a yellow marker safe between her teeth.

"All those herbs and infusions you prepare when one of us is sick or for good luck whenever something really important is coming up—you know that they're actually magical potions, right?"

The highlighting pen immediately falls out of Bonnie's lips right onto her open book with a faint _thud_ , the brunette's green eyes widening almost comically; Caroline subtly clears her throat to avoid laughing at the utterly stunned expression currently on her friend's face.

Stuttering and bewildered, Bonnie slowly turns around.

"I—"

"It's okay," the blonde hurries to reassure her, nonchalantly waving a hand up and down once and shaking her head. "Yes, I know about the supernatural. No, I'm not mad that you didn't tell me."

The part of those few sentences that Bonnie focuses on, is definitely enough reason why the two of them are best friends.

"You're not mad?" the dark-skinned girl asks tentatively, wanting to make sure as a small wince comes to mar her features. "I swear I wanted to tell you _so many times_ , but the decision wasn't really only up to me and—wait," she suddenly frowns. " _How_ do you know?"

Caroline lightly shrugs, her mind already made up. No matter how much she trusts and loves Bonnie, she would never out the Mikaelsons like that, not when all that they have always done has been protecting her and taking care of her; she doesn't even question why lying for them feels so easy, almost a twisted kind of right.

"My mom eventually told me," she answers, keeping her tone even, "something about keeping the knowledge in the family, or whatever."

"Right," Bonnie nods, mostly to herself, seemingly convinced and allowing Caroline to release a mental sigh of relief. "Founding family, that makes sense. Does Elena know, too?"

The blonde's thin brows pensively furrow together at that; suddenly, she wonders if Elena could be _something_ as well—just how many of the people that she has known her whole life are more than what they let on, than what they pretend to be—and makes a mental note to try and figure it out.

"I have no idea. Maybe?" she shrugs again, topic already momentarily set aside as she takes a deep breath and rolls on her back to properly move into a more comfortable sitting position. "Anyway, I have a question... or, well, a few questions."

Her friend's lips twitch upwards somewhat, in amusement.

"Shoot."

Still, Caroline hesitates.

For the past year, she has been doing a lot of meticulous digging on everything werewolf-y. After all, she remembers having been in the presence of Klaus' wolf more than once during her childhood—a powerful feeling that she can't quite understand surging through her whole body whenever she recalls those particular memories—and, if added to Kol's increasingly frequent and wiggling-eyebrows-accompanied wolf jokes, it all made her understand that was most likely what she should be looking into.

Initially, she didn't find anything all too interesting: odd folklore stories and ridiculous superstitions? Not exactly what she was searching for. But, then, she decided to specifically center her efforts on finding information about how werewolves deal with family and love relationships, and the epiphany finally happened.

After she easily paralleled the way that Klaus acts around her and the foreign and uncontrollable emotions that his mere presence stirs up inside of her to what she had discovered, connecting all the dots hadn't been that hard.

It still doesn't make saying it aloud to somebody else–

–putting the words out there is going to make it _real_ , once and for all–

–any less difficult, however.

So the twenty-one-year-old remains silent for several moments, anxiously worrying her bottom lip between two rows of perfect teeth. Eventually, under Bonnie's expectant stare, she swallows and then speaks.

"What do you know about werewolves'... mates?"

Rightfully, the young witch looks slightly taken aback by the question, although she doesn't miss a beat.

"Is this about Tyler?" she immediately asks instead, half frowning. "I thought you two broke up."

They did, and it's not. But, as of right now, that sounds like a great cover story—thanks, Bonnie.

"Uhm, yeah. It's just—" the blonde exhales shakily, moving her right hand around in the air in front of her in a funny, jittery manner. "I have all these weird feelings, you know? And I did some reading, so I guess I just want to be sure I've made the right decision."

At that, her best friend's expression softens in understanding and the two girls share a small smile.

Bonnie sighs.

"Unfortunately, I don't know much," she finally says, giving Caroline an apologetic look. "It's a pretty rare circumstance, to be honest. And Tyler is still untriggered, isn't he?"

"He is, yes." A frown and, suddenly, another question. "Have you known that he's a werewolf this whole time?"

It's the brunette's turn to shrug. "The Lockwoods apparently go way back with that gene. My Grams told me."

Processing the information, Caroline nods.

"Any chance you could ask your Grams about it for me, then?" she pleads, eyes wide and a cute pout appearing on her pale pink lips.

The other girl promptly laughs, shaking her head.

"As if I could ever say no to your unfairly adorable puppy face. I'll see what I can find out."

Grinning, the blonde lets out a little squeal.

"Thank you, Bennett."

"Anytime, Forbes."

But, barely a week later, when her friend tells her that it is indeed possible for werewolves to have human mates and that such a bond is unbreakable, Caroline ends up wishing that she had never asked for her help in the first place.

This time, it's for Thanksgiving break that she goes back to Mystic Falls.

She's torn between the need to scream at every single one of the Mikaelsons and hoping she never actually finds the courage to bring the topic up, because how exactly is she supposed to announce that she has finally figured out what none of them seemed to ever want her to know? Which, _stupid_ —her whole life pretty much depends on it and she was always meant to learn about it sooner or later, wasn't she? Nothing seems to make sense.

So the time that they spend together is awkward, to say the least.

"Are you sure that everything's all right, Care?" Rebekah tentatively presses the human blonde one day, while the two of them are setting the table for late lunch at the Forbes' house.

The twenty-one-year-old's eyes never stray away from the pristine white plate that she is nervously trying to place just right.

"Mmhmh."

"Caroline," the female vampire sighs heavily at the dismissal, cutlery long forgotten somewhere on the dark green and orange tablecloth. "I've known you ever since you were born. You don't really believe that I can't tell when something is clearly troubling you, do you?"

And that is what finally makes the young girl snap.

"Well, maybe that's the problem," she bristles, eyes hardening as she looks up at the Original in front of her. "You've been there my whole life—why? You guys are the most powerful family of vampires in the world and I'm, what? There's nothing special about me, is there?"

Rebekah frowns, feeling disoriented by the sudden outburst.

"What are you—"

"Or maybe it's just because I'm Klaus' mate, uh?"

As soon as she sees the other blonde's blue orbs widen in a mixture of fear and shock, lips parting over and over again and willing her to say something— _anything_ —to fix the situation although no actual sound manages to come out, Caroline knows that she has her answer.

She scoffs, shaking her head in revulsion and ignoring the sting of tears forcefully pushing at the corners of her eyes.

"I can't believe it. All this time, you have been lying to me! Was anything ever real between us?"

"Of course it was! And we did it for your own good," Rebekah desperately tries, in vain.

"Oh, really? Because, to me, it looks an awful lot like it was for Klaus' sake: keep his mate close for when he finally has some time for her, and then let the bond do the rest," she comments, bitterness and distrust clear in her harsh tone. "Would you have ever even told me? Or were you just hoping that I would never question anything, never find out that I have never had any control over my life?"

The blonde Original takes a deep breath, lets some silence stretch around them for a few moments in the hope that quietness could calm the waters.

"That isn't how it works."

Features growing sadder, the human shakes her head once more. "I'm not sure I can believe anything of what you say, anymore."

So, for the very first time since she was barely one year old, Caroline spends Thanksgiving Day without any of the Mikaelsons.

It's Klaus who finds her sitting on her own porch steps hours later, at sundown.

She must have heard him approaching, because she looks up at him before he can say a single word; there's somber defeat dimming her natural sunny disposition rather than the fight that he was expecting, and the sight makes his heart ache.

Wordlessly, he takes the spot beside her.

"I'm sorry," he murmurs into the light November breeze after a little while, blankly looking ahead towards the empty street in front of them.

The blonde stays silent. Even without looking at her, Klaus can feel her very essence warming the right side of his body and then effortlessly spreading throughout his whole being as her life and energy buzz along his own veins like a tidal wave of emotions.

She's _inside_ of him–

–she has always been.

Finally, after a few, endless moments, he catches a small nod of her head out of the corner of his eye, not even realizing that he had been holding his breath up until then. There is a completely new kind of tension coursing between them now, one that the hybrid can barely stand, one that weighs heavily upon his chest.

"How was Thanksgiving?" he clears his throat and asks, hoping to be able to hear her voice this time.

Caroline shrugs, inhaling deeply.

"Boring. Uncomfortable. It was weird being just me and my mom, with no Kol and no Rebekah."

At the wistful mention of his two younger siblings, Klaus can't help but stiffen, more guilt clouding his thoughts.

His next words are rushing up his throat and past his lips not even an instant later.

"Do not blame them," he says, at last turning to look at her. The sun is setting across her pale, soft features, casting faint shadows on her face, and yet she has never looked more lovely.

She briefly hesitates, before gently tilting her neck and meeting his gaze.

"They lied to me... for years."

"Not maliciously, I can promise you that."

"I'm not sure how much your word counts," she retorts, looking away for a moment, "since the situation was to your advantage."

Klaus lets out a forlorn chuckle at that, eyebrows arching slightly in disbelief.

"To my advantage? Caroline," he starts, utterly serious all of a sudden, "every single second that I was away from you, I have lived it knowing that you were my mate and that we were meant to be together... I have lived it missing you."

The blonde's eyes immediately snap up to his stormy blue ones and widen as they search them, her breath catching in her throat at his confession; she had never seen it that way, she had never considered how much leaving had affected _him_ and not only her.

He continues.

"We never told you anything because we didn't want you to feel pressured, to feel as if you didn't have a choice. You will _always_ have a choice."

And there is no denying the honesty and seriousness ringing loud and clear in Klaus' tone, so Caroline finds herself at a loss for how to feel or how to react. Thickly, she swallows, letting in a slow, trembling breath.

"Nothing matters more to me, than you and your happiness," the hybrid pledges, his stare intense and unwavering as it burns on every line of her face. "And, if you truly feel that your life would be easier without me, I will leave you alone... I will be gone, and you will be free."

He moves to stand up then, regarding her with a sad and pained smile, and, even if she is unwilling to admit it to herself quite yet, Caroline thinks that's what finally prompts her to shake her daze away.

"No," her hand shoots forward and finds his, his dumbfounded, amazed eyes jumping to her averted gaze in some kind of confused awe. Her voice is barely a quivering whisper as she speaks. "Stay."

Speechless, Klaus sits back down, dead heart pounding as his mate links their fingers together.

The day is ending, as they begin.


	12. 2014

**"He feels it as soon as she is born, that tug at his heartstrings that says his mate has finally come into the world. It's beautiful and terrifying all at once, but most importantly what he has been unknowingly waiting for all along."**

* * *

"So, I've been thinking..." Kol suddenly appears at the door of Klaus' studio, a serious expression on his face as if he's actually contemplating something.

Immediately, the hybrid sighs. "Never a good sign," he mumbles under his breath, not deigning the other Original of a single look as he remains focused on the sketchbook open on his lap instead.

But the brown-eyed Mikaelson is unperturbed, effectively entering the room and carrying on.

"It's been, what, now? Another five months, give or take? Perhaps it's time you turn to some kind of handbook, Brother," he comments nonchalantly, plopping himself down on the dark brown leather couch right next to Klaus, a cheeky grin stretching on his lips as the latter turns around to scowl at him. "Like a sort of 'five steps to get your mate to love you back' guide, you know? I'm sure we can find one in Bekah's silly magaz— _ouch_! God, Nik," Kol yelps pitifully, clutching his left hand to his chest and then extracting the long pencil that his older brother has lodged right in the middle of it with a grimace, "why must you be so violent?"

Klaus moves to fetch another pencil from the small table positioned in front of the sofa, as if nothing happened.

"Because you are so vexing, Kol," he eventually retorts, obviously peeved.

The younger Original pouts dramatically. "That hurts my feelings. You can't even appreciate that I am trying to help."

"Right."

"It's true!" Kol animatedly protests. "You and Caroline are basically redefining the meaning of 'slow burn' right now, you're a 'sloth burn'," but he frowns to himself then, pausing. "Okay, that sounded wrong and somehow offensive to sloths."

Despite everything, the hybrid ends up letting out a low chuckle and shaking his head.

"I do not need your help; or anybody's help, for that matter. I am doing just fine."

His brother promptly snorts. "Could have fooled me."

The comment earns Kol a harsh glare, to which he immediately answers by holding both of his hands up in a sign of good faith.

"All I'm saying is that... yes, Nik, I'm all too aware of the soulful glances of longing that you and _my Carebear_ ," he briefly narrows his eyes at Klaus in a father-meeting-the-boyfriend kind of manner, "share, but you have been tiptoeing around each other for actual years now. You have to step up your game! In a respectful way, of course, or you can forget ever gaining my blessing."

The hybrid scoffs, still easily moving his hand across the page.

"The mere possibility keeps me awake at night, Kol."

"Good, because I'm being serious," and the sternness in his tone confirms it, hardening the air around the two Mikaelson siblings and making the older one stiffen.

It's only after a few moments of grave silence that Klaus sighs and finally sets his sketchbook aside. He clearly looks as if he's about to say something, uncharacteristically open up even, but the two brothers' attention is diverted by a sudden commotion before either of them has a chance to speak again.

"I've made it! I have finally made it!" Caroline's excited voice reaches them, prompting them to share a bemused look before standing up and joining the rest of the family in the living room.

They find their sister happily hugging the other blonde, the two rocking from side to side on the spot.

"This is an amazing achievement, Caroline," Elijah affords the human a genuine smile, resting a gentle hand on her shoulder for a moment once Rebekah eventually takes a step back.

"Thank you," she beams up at him, cheeks tinged with a faint pink as a consequence of her enthusiasm.

Curious, that's when Kol decides to chime in.

"Hey, what's going on here?" he asks, approaching the trio with Klaus silent but observing right behind him.

Caroline and his two other siblings all turn around then, and the former's lips seem to possibly stretch even wider across her face as she skips to him in a heartbeat.

"I've passed my last exam this morning—Theater Culture Studies III," the twenty-one-year-old half rolls her eyes, mentally scoffs at the subject and her annoyingly pretentious professor for making her take the test twice that year, even if her bright blue orbs are shining with pride as she speaks, "which means I can officially graduate next month!"

The vampire's eyes widen and, after less than an instant, he is lifting her up in his arms.

"Oh my God, _Carebear_!"

Laughing, the girl shakes her head and lets her feet dangle in the air with her hands firm on the Original's shoulders.

"Kol, put me down!" she shrieks at him, still giggling.

"No," he solemnly refuses, the intent however ruined by his own laughter and the fact that he does carefully set her back on the ground a moment later. "This calls for a celebration."

"Yeah, well," she grins, massaging the small of her back mostly jokingly, "I'd like to celebrate all in one piece. I'm still human, you know."

Of course, celebrating ends up meaning pizza and Tiramisu–

–and it's a sight, really: the sophisticated Mikaelsons, slaves to the culinary tastes of a barely-adult, little spitfire–

–even if it's just about three in the afternoon—so Rebekah picks up her phone and orders while Kol disappears into the kitchen to work on their dessert; even Elijah, in a subtle manner that only he can master, politely excuses himself and at last leaves Klaus and Caroline alone.

Things have been going really well between the two of them in the last couple of months, or at least as well as they can go considering the lingering tension in their every interaction and the feelings for each other that they are still keeping somewhat suppressed. After all, how is one supposed to act around the person whom they are apparently destined to be with? Life comes with no guidelines for such a situation.

Shuffling awkwardly on her feet and averting her gaze for a few seconds, the blonde clears her throat.

"So, how are you?" she asks quietly, immediately mentally cringing at how lame that must have sounded.

However, when she finally gathers enough confidence to meet Klaus' eyes, the expression on the hybrid's face is the furthest thing from bored or uninterested. If anything, painted over his softened features, there's a by now familiar look of tender intensity and unadulterated adoration which does not fail to leave her breathless.

He smiles, coy.

"Should I not be the one to ask you that?" he remarks, eyebrows arching as he takes a deliberately slow step closer. "Congratulations are in order, and yet I find myself speechless before your brilliant mind."

And perhaps it's cheesy and a little bit over the top—Caroline has already learned that the Original in front of her never seems to do things halfway, after all—but that doesn't stop the human from blushing, bottom lip suddenly trapped in between her teeth in a nervous habit as she feels her whole face become warmer by the moment.

"I'm not the only one who's graduating," she points out self-consciously, not exactly used to be complimented and especially not for her academic results.

If possible, her modesty only makes him appear even further enchanted, orbs twinkling proudly.

"That doesn't take anything away from what you are accomplishing, Sweetheart," he insists, moving even closer and making her swallow thickly.

His gaze is smoldering, piercing, almost as if he can see so much more than just her body whenever he looks at her–

–and he does, doesn't he... he sees _everything_ –

–and so she can't help but let her own eyes rake over him, because— _shut up—_ it's not her fault that he's so damn handsome.

With his whole attention trained solely on her, Klaus easily catches her staring, the corners of his lips twitching upwards. But he doesn't look smug, not even at the fact that her heart is literally hammering in her chest and he can hear it happen; honestly, he never looks anything other than happy when he's around her.

Unsure on what else to say, the blonde eventually opts for a simple nod.

"Well, thank you."

"You are most welcome," he smiles, before skillfully changing the topic and making Caroline's forehead crease in curious confusion as he starts. "I couldn't help but notice, earlier, that you said you are _still_ human?"

Immediately taken aback, her eyes widen and she softly gasps. _She hadn't even realized_ —

"It doesn't mean—I didn't mean—"

"Caroline," the hybrid calls her name, firmly and yet affectionately, interrupting her rambling. "It's quite all right. You should never be ashamed of what you desire, not with me."

She offers him a small, grateful smile, although still feeling flustered.

"It's just—" she takes a deep breath and wills herself to continue, "it was involuntary, really. It just came out."

"Of course," he reciprocates the smile, suddenly appearing wiser somehow, his gaze even more consuming. "Your subconscious is simply trying to tell you what I already know, Caroline: you are meant for so much more than mere mortality."

Once again, under his scorching blue eyes, the human is suddenly rendered speechless.

She is way past her fleeting years of doubts and insecurities, having long understood that she'd rather have people who do not deserve to be in her life anyway leave than forced to stay around, but it's still nice to hear someone state just how much she is worth to them. And not just anyone but Klaus, her... _mate_.

Studying him attentively, almost frowning, she can tell that part of him seems hopeful. It makes sense, really, since they are meant to be together and he's already bound to eternity; but she just _knows_ , she can feel it in her bones, that the prevalent emotion in his eyes and voice is nothing if not utter honesty. Because even if the hybrid's heart has been dead for centuries now, cold and motionless underneath his steel ribcage, he wears it on his sleeve when it comes to her–

–always selfless and always selfish, in his need for her to be happy.

Taking to again worry her lips with her teeth, Caroline briefly ducks her head and inhales deeply before setting her gaze back on Klaus. This time, she doesn't let the intensity that he's emanating catch her unprepared.

"Thank you," she repeats. "Although I don't think I'm ready, yet."

He good-naturedly nods, seemingly satisfied by her answer.

"Perhaps one day," he edges.

"Possibly," the twenty-one-year-old smiles, and she's the one taking a few steps closer this time. "Thank you for understanding, too."

Before the Original can react–

–and that's an achievement all in itself—to beat him to something, to find him with his guard let down–

–she is right in front of him and deftly wrapping her arms around his neck.

It's a bit of a clumsy hug at first, with Klaus completely frozen and holding his breath, unable to truly believe that his mate is willingly touching him so intimately for the first time in over a decade. After a few tense moments, however, he finally moves—it's a natural instinct for him, to want to hold her and keep her close—releasing a shaky breath into the blonde's sensitive ear and making her shudder as his own arms surround her thin waist and his hands lock on her hips.

Following his slow response, Caroline seems to relax further into the embrace as well, soft curves melting gently against the hard planes of his chest and face half burrowing into his neck. The hybrid's grip tightens around her almost unconsciously then, his fingers delicately stroking the small of her back, his lungs working to fill his whole being with her unique scent, his mind cataloging every single feeling and sensation that he is currently experiencing. And he is being unabashed in his perusal, because who knows when he will get to hold her this way again. They are moving forward but it could be years, even... he will not let this chance pass him by.

So they remain pressed together for minutes on end, searing themselves onto each other even more than Fate has already done, Klaus eventually branding a whispered—

—"Always."—

—on the already heated skin of Caroline's cheek.

And maybe the special connection between them and the growing need to just _cave_ that the young blonde feels do play a part in her decision, months later. But the thing is that being awarded an internship at Whitmore to help supervising freshman year's Drama class doesn't really live up to her expectations and ceases being challenging and exciting after only a couple of weeks.

It's confusing and frustrating because shouldn't a position of control which requires severe organization and having back-up plans to her own back-up plans be the pinnacle of her dreams? Isn't that what she has been striving toward her whole life? It's the perfect training platform and a legit starting point for her future career, but something somewhere just feels off and lacking.

She has always loved having a good daily routine, to-do lists and projects, but this sad monotony that she's stuck in? That was never supposed to be part of the deal.

The realization never hits her; it bubbles up inside of her little by little instead, smooth and confident, giving an answer to so many things that had been left unsolved throughout her existence until she is all but bursting with it.

When she goes back to Mystic Falls for her birthday–

–and it's the most fitting occasion to share her latest decision, to announce her upcoming _renaissance_ –

–finding herself in the middle of the Mikaelsons' living room with four pairs of expectant eyes placed on her, Caroline's gaze is unwaveringly set on Klaus and only him.

"I want you to turn me."


End file.
